Project Lupus
by Lord Balthazar98
Summary: The destruction of the fold weapon was a major victory for the Militia. But Jack Cooper has no idea what he has set in motion. Higher powers among the IMC have come to realize the threat of the Vanguards. Old favors are being called in, new plans are in motion...and works of art will be put to use
1. Chapter 1

Project: Lupus

Part: A Decision

The room is massive, containing only twelve occupants. These twelve aging men sat in their respective seats, hands resting on the large round table. Before them at the center is a holographic display; in the display is the planet of typhoon...or at least what's left of it. A massive chunk of the planet had been ripped apart in their recent blunder.

"So..." Starts the man at the head of the table, face hidden by shadow like the rest, started. He leans forward the pin at the left side of his chest glinting, it bore three letter that struck fear into the frontier "what did we learn from the failure of the fold weapon gentlemen?"

One coughs into a hand "Mercenaries cannot be fully trusted, Blisk's entire elite force was killed, and he all but vanished when the contract was complete"

The man at the head of the table drums his fingers slowly on the mahogany surface "And how did five of some of the most deadly mercenaries in the history of the frontier all perish within a single planetary rotation?"

Another shadowed figure works at a small tablet "Reports indicate they all were killed by a lone vanguard class titan, recordings designate it as BT-7274. Said titan and pilot killed all but one of the Apex Predators and destroyed the fold weapon sir"

The head of the table let out a long suffering sigh, for a few scant moment he simply stares at his hands. In these moments he weighs his options carefully calculating the next course of action, and coming to a conclusion. He raises his head to look over the eleven other executives "Gentlemen several things have been brought to my attention". The CEO holds up a finger "First; the militia have once again proven despite their many disadvantages to be incredibly capable".

Another finger goes up. "Secondly: the vanguard titian is superior; as the reports have shown the loading bay for the ark was attacked by only a single Vanguard attack squad, sure the ark escaped, yet these Vanguards butchered an entire company of our pilots in that single assault"

A third finger. "And thirdly: can we stop with the doomsday weapons people, we're trying to control the frontier. How in god's name are we supposed to mine these worlds if we erase them with a giant gravity cannon?!"

After the mild outburst the man gave a huff and straightens his tie "We...are facing a capable enemy" he scratches his cheek with a thumb "we need a solution, we can't just level the playing field we need absolute, crushing domination".

The CEO swallows before tapping at his personal device mounted on his forearm "I'm calling in a favor gentlemen, Vinson Dynamics is finally going to pay us back for all those investments, I think you all know what I am speaking of".

Instantly the energy of the room goes dark

"Sir..."  
"The very concept of it is insane"

"They will be abominations!"

"Sir it's just too dangerous!"

They entire room goes silent with a raise of his hand "the message has already been sent, The experiment is now the main focus of the entirety of Vinson Dynamics and will be ready by the coming year...Gentlemen".

The CEO rises from his seat and walks his way over to the massive window that made up the northern wall. A sea of stars were before him...stars he would soon strip of all they are worth. He looks back to the table "Project Lupus is to deploy as soon as possible"


	2. Chapter 2

Project: Lupus

Part 2: Rampage

It's been roughly a year since the acceleration of Project: Lupus and a year's worth of progress for the Militia.

A massive battle cruiser; spear heading the Militia fleet powers its way through the vacuum at a slow but steady pace in the direction of their and valuable target. With their growing ranks the Militia was getting bold, before them was the large garden world of Hydraxis.

This planet was a mix of thick jungle, mountains, swamps, rivers interspersed with long rolling plains and forests. It's also where the IMC had built one of their largest production plant of anything from titans to paint, it was more of a small city than a production plant and like most IMC instillations it was almost completely autonomous. The only organics were a complacent if large security detail comprised of the typical titan units and infantry.

Briggs was hell bent on this operation; the mission wasn't the destruction of the facility, but its capture. With the capture of Hydraxis the fleet wouldn't have to worry about supplies for decades, taking Production site D-353 would be another massive victory they needed, and a blow to the IMC.

Little did they know a lonesome stealth cruiser, a vessel lurking behind the planet's moon, watches them from a safe distance. This was the light frigate Gardon...and she was carrying one hell of a payload.

It the next few hours the fleet made orbit of the planet Hydraxis, and the entire vessel was a massive beehive of activity. Perfectly calm in the storm walks pilot Jack Cooper. He wore the same suit from his first mission, and still carries the helmet of his late mentor. He rounds a corner into the main hangar, each massive bay holds a Vanguard titan. Each bore a name and pilot who were all preparing for the assault, he finds his gaze lingering on the distinct bloody red Vanguard that was having its launchers loaded. His attention falters as he finally reaches his own.

That familiar seafoam green optic swivels to his person the moment he breaks a twenty foot radius. Jack waves lazily "Hey BT, you ready?"

The titan blinks as Marvin bots mill about him doing checks "Reactor: nominal, ammunition: full, all joints fully operable, shields at maximum". Another blink and the titan raises a hand to give his pilot a thumbs up. Cooper couldn't help but grin; those many months ago he thought his partner dead, only for the Ai to download his core programming into Jack's helmet in his final seconds. The pilot didn't dare think what he would've done if he'd actually lost BT.

Before he could think any further a blaring alarm sounds, red lights flash as crewman clear out the massive chamber. The elite pilots leap into their respective titans as final checks are made. Jack slips on his helmet "Welp, that's our cue". The cockpits opens and he leaps in settling down into the seat with a sigh. The voice of his commander sounds through the speakers.

Brigs still had her cockpit open "listen up, we're in for a long one here people, our target is the main control tower of the facility. If we can get to it fast enough we can cut off any reinforcements from hearing about the attack. Remember we'll be dropping within the ground of the facility so enemy attack could come from any direction so keep your wits about you, we launch one minute!" The red Vanguard shut its cockpit.

Seconds tick by as the pods slam together over the titans, sealing Cooper in darkness. He rolls his hands over the controls with a long calming breath. The timer hits zero and the world around Jack shook as the titan was fired down towards the planet along with six others. BT's voice sounds through the cockpit "At our current decent we will make landfall in next five seconds, brace for impact".

The young pilot holds tight as the pod breaks apart leaving them in free fall for a only a brief moment before they crash to the ground. Jack grunts as the impact shakes his bones, the rest of the squad hit the ground a second later, plumes of dust revealing Vanguards already on the move.

The red Vanguard is already on the move "Target's due north let's move people!" Weapons are drawn as they take off into the massive industrial complex. All around them for miles are piping and catwalks, dark and dreary service ways, massive open conveyor belts keep at work even with the coming attack. The bulk of the assault force was farther southwest at the main offloading station of the facility, hopefully the commotion of their attack would leave Jack's squad with little resistance.

The target was already in site, a looming structure in the distance that boasted three radio dishes pointing off to the sky. One vanguard near the front suddenly boosts left, an archer missile curves by smashing into a nearby wall. Several of the slow missiles flew down the long broad roadway, the security troops, armed with every anti titan weapon available, had taken post around the communication array. The Vanguard wilding a tracker cannon leans out of cover long enough to fire off a sonar pulse. In an instant the visual data is sent back, showing several squads hunkered down among the bunkers and catwalks.

"You have your targets, fire at will" Barks Briggs as she launches a few missiles of her own. Ducking another missile Jack shreds a bunker with rifle fire. A splitter rifle takes the lead, its wedge pattern fire sending the squads scrambling. They regain their previous pace, using a mix of speed and suppressive fire they easily power their way towards the communication array. Jack and BT are calm and methodical in their work, firing in controlled bursts into hostile positon. The display suddenly flashes a warning to his left, he turns; vortex shield flaring to catch three archer missiles. Jack couldn't stop his grimace at the near critical damage he almost received and sends the payload back to its owner.

They make it to the end of the service road in mere ten minutes. One Vanguard, lugging a predator cannon points to the dish "Ma'am the dishes are rotating!".

Her reply was rapid as she level her launches up the dish "fire cores, bring it down!"Under the combined power of seven cores being activated, the commutation dishes are shredded under volleys of rockets, bullets, and a single massive laser. Said laser slices through the mounting of the main dish. By the time the core burns out the massive dish is tipping over, the mounting oozing hot slag. With a horrible groan it falls over, the dish smashes into it small counterpart on the way down. Their combined weight crushes the station underneath to rubble.

The splitter rifle Vanguard turns to Briggs "what's the next course of action ma'am?"

"We take the main control center, this way pilots!"

...

Back on the Gardon, her captain watches the battle with growing concern. The bridge is a single large horseshoe shaped chamber with a long observation window. This was IMC captain Winslow, the man was revered among the IMC for his leadership and his loyalty. His commanding officer had approached him month ago with a top secret, Winslow was promised a promotion so refusal was out of the question.

Their 'cargo' was confined to the hangar for most of the four week voyage after its pickup at one of Vinson Dynamic's testing sites. The only description he was given was 'a miracle that will answer all their militia problems' and then it was loaded onto the ship in some special container along with a lone 'handler' scientist who insisted she go.

That was a month ago, and now Winslow stood with a holographic form of his CO; Naval Commander Fazio. The shimmering blue form of the aging man stood at his side watching the battle was far more patience. Winslow brushes a hand along his graying blonde hair "sir, that security detail has already lost half of their titan support, they will last, at the most, another hour..."

Fazio's brow wrinkles in thought at the magnified images of the battle watching the faltering IMC units get pushed farther back into the complex. The old man turns to the captain "Winslow you are to drop your payload along with your best pilots for support immediately, report back to me once the battle is over".

The hologram winks out leaving the captain alone "What in god's name is this war coming to..." Winslow mutters before speaking into his wrist mounted communicator "cargo and squad alpha zero are to report to hangar one for deployment!"

It didn't take for the hardy squad of pilot to make their way into the hangar where the dropship was sitting, bay open. They only counted four; a cloak named Francis. A particle wall specialist, a stocky woman named Ana. Third; a holo clone pilot and the youngest nicknamed Youngblood and lastly; Gary, with his sonar knives.

The squad jogs towards the ship as the engines spin. Their pace slows as they see the 'cargo' was already loaded in. With much more care than before, the four pilots move their way into the ship. They all take a knee as the bay door closes, the vessel lifts off. Whatever it was sat crossed legged on the other side of the ship looked like a pilot for the most part. It was a stealth kit, but it bore somewhat heavier plating in places. The synthetic fur cowl was dark, light eating black, it was thicker as well, bearing a bit more puff around the shoulders. And that's where all the similarities end, first it was roughly two point seven meters tall. This let its huge shoulders clear the view port behind it. Next were the claws both large hands ended in, they weren't carotene, but some sort of alloy that would ever so slightly catch the light. The helmet was long and triangular, four long optic strips go up the length of the helmet, giving of an almost soothing purple glow.

Sitting on its left thigh was a short, stout woman wearing a neatly pressed coat with a green and black delta symbol on the right shoulder and back. She couldn't be older than thirty five, her raven black hair was done up a neat bun. A small pair of glasses rest on her nose while she taps at a device that was connected to a port on its arm. She was so focused on the her work she didn't notice the ship warp, she lets out a small yelp, a gray armor plated hand shot out to gently catch her just as she tips over.

She gentle pats the side of its helmet "thankyou Lawrence".

That's when the squad leader; Francis opens his mouth "So that things got a name?". The creature, who name is now known as Lawrence didn't even react, but the woman looks his way with scorn.

She spins on her current seat to face him "yes he does pilot, he is the only reason any of us are here".

Ana slams the magazine home on her devotion LMG "Our officer only said to 'provide support', I could care less what the hell it is, as long as I get paid".

The vessel blasts back into normal space, racing towards the combat zone. The woman in the lab coat nods slowly "Speaking of pay I have a very special offer for you all".

She hops down and walks over to the bay door, Gary speaks up over the muffled sound of combat outside "what kind of offer?" She pulls the release as they pass over the outskirts of the facility.

"I'll tell you if you live through this". She looks to Lawrence "Remember sweetie, help white, and kill green, go play!" The hulking figure throws itself out the ship, followed by the squad of four. Cracks race across the concrete where Lawrence lands but he stands no worse for wear. He does a brief check of his weapons; clipped to his back were his particle carbine and short blade. The carbine had gone through rigorous testing and incorporated components from the L-star and volt weapons. The short blade was a nano composite weapon that bore a broad surface and single edge. On his back was the most cumbersome tool in his arsenal, and another experimental weapon. The AT-javelin was an anti-titan railgun that's been in the works for the past few years, funded by the IMC. It worked similar to the Northstar model but used titanium slugs instead of plasma. Lastly was his cloak, his suit was larger than the average pilot and made from the latest and greatest of Vinson Dynamics. His cloak was far more effective, rendering him much harder to discern and lasting far longer.

The squad hits the ground a moment later the lot of them taking position behind. He only turns to them slowly and speaks; the voice that thrums from the helmet is low and sonorous yet bears the signs of youth "just stay alive, and let me work"

Lawrence leaps to a wall bounding across it and around another corner, his cloak activates and he vanishes from sight.

Squad Alpha zero stands in silence for a moment, all of them looking where the creature was just a moments ago. Ana speaks up slowly "So we just do the usual?"

Francis would facepalm but he was wearing a helmet "yes Ana the usual, let's get moving!"

Lawrence meanwhile, was a shimmering blur that bounds across the roofs and along the chimney. He was already getting a solid idea of the situation at hand; the Militia had broken through the meager defensive lines that were made at their main entrance. It was clear by the large plumes of smoke rising from the far gates, now the Militia were simply pouring into the facility, seeking to capture it for their own use.

Lawrence leaps across another roof top and finds his first targets. A squad of grunts, about six; moving their way across a large catwalk. He licks his teeth, short sword hissing out of its scabbard.

The head of the squad is crushed underfoot as Lawrence lands, claws zip across the neck of the other before his hemlock could be raised. The remaining four are screaming and back pedaling the best they could but Lawrence is just too fast. He ducks under a blast of buckshot and lunges, spearing the man though his right lung.

The body provides enough cover for him to close the small distance to the next who emptied him magazine in his panic. The corpse bowls him over as Lawrence still powers forward. His boot come down on the face of the pinned grunt, his skull burst like a cherry; bone shards flying away and brain tissue oozing through the grate.

Lawrence yanks the trembling soldier's weapon from his hands while he tries to stumble backwards. The R-201 is swung into his face with enough force is to break the rifle apart along with the man's jaw, sending blood and teeth through the air. Before he could hit the ground Lawrence was already running along the side of the building towards his next target. He bounds off a roof and runs a chimney to find a pair of friendly titans in sorry shape. An Ion and Legion model, the Ion is far worse for wear, flames venting from her exhausts. The legion is only venting gray smoke and bears several dents and scars along the plating.

Around the corner came a pair of Militia Tones, the lead slid out; dropping a particle wall. The legion engages its own shield, opening up with its cannon. With his cloak still running, Lawrence hefts the railgun from his back he lets the weapon charge as Tone blasts away. Staring down the scope he fires a single high velocity round into the lead titan's firing hand.

The tracker cannon falls to the dirt just as the particle wall is broken. With a broken hand the Tone scoops up the weapon and beats a rapid retreat. The other is looking in every direction to find the shooter only to have a slug smash into its ankle joint, hobbling its moving.

Lawrence dives off the building as the Tone fires where the vapor trail of the slug came from. A hunk of shrapnel scratches the side of his helm as he rolls of the roof. His claws dig into the concrete wall as he slides down letting him drop safely into a murky alley between the larger structures. The other Militia titan, with its busted hand comes stomping by, back pedaling with the other still around the corner. The pilot ends up lining his titan up with the alley as the other starts his way. Lawrence leaps along both towering walls, building speed and elevation until he burst out the alley onto the Tone's back.

Lawrence rips the battery out with inhuman strength and was bounding away as several auxiliary system failed in that Tone from the power supply being ripped out so suddenly. The pilot tries to fire his way but with only one hand and systems recovering, his accuracy suffers greatly, with a battery under one arm Lawrence boosts his way back around the corner to find the other Tone limping to get away. A laser shot blows off its firing arm, leaving it to be shredded under the Legion's fire.

The experiment turns on his radio, his display letting him find the channel easily "battery!" he barks, holding it higher. The Legion's cannon spun to a halt but its posture remains hostile.

A female voice sounds out as the titan keeps its weapon raised. "We got a pilot he's...big, I need an ID". 

A few seconds later the gruff voice of Francis sounds through. "That's uhh...specialist Lawrence, we're your support but hang back and let'em work"

The predator cannon lowers. "Copy". Lawrence leaps onto the titan's back and slides the battery home. The shields flare to power over the legion "thanks" grunts the pilot "anything you need sir?"

With a graceful leap, he lands on a rooftop. "Stay alive, you have more titan support incoming soon". He tears off back into the fray, his large grey form cloaking away among the chaos.

...

Jack pushes over the burning husk of a Ronin, this was his ninth titan kill so far. The Vanguards along with the bulk of their infantry were pushing towards the most fortified position in the facility. The main control center was barred behind a row of heavy defense cannons that guarded the large slope that it sat upon, but that was still a far distance away.

They were still stuck a huge security gate much like the one they first broke through. Several automated units had joined in the defense, they proved to be the most troublesome as reapers seem to leap of unseen assembly lines. A trio of Legion titans were standing firm despite showing a great deal of wear and damage. Their combined fire was more than enough to keep everyone mostly pinned down, other titan squads had been redirected to find an alternative route, but Briggs hasn't heard from them yet.

Jack fires another quick burst as before another stream of lead gnaws at their cover. That's when the radio blares, the male voice on the other end is wreathed in terror "Brigg, we got a problem!" Frantic tracker cannon fire and explosions could be heard.

The commander halts in her firing "Pilot, explain yourself"

"It's coming back around, focus fire!" There was a roar of titan weaponry, then the connection abruptly cut.

Another voice; female and furious. "Squad seven, we just caught glimpse of what took down squad three, its gone!"

The rear guard of squad seven suddenly screams "Contact left!". His fire only lasts for a moment before a heinous crash of metal.

"Contact above!"  
"I can't get a lock!"

"Kaleb's down, it's too fast!"

Cooper's jaw slowly drops open at the utter mayhem sounding over the channel. But like the others it didn't last long. Only after a single minute of panic and gunfire, all of squad seven goes dark.

Jack looks to his commander. "Briggs, your orders?" Something or someone was butchering their pilots with ease, they only had about four more squads of normal titans on the ground, whatever was attacking was no doubt on its way to slaughter the rest.

That when one of the Legions holding the gate fell, a lucky missile catching its ammo drum. Briggs waves her titan's hand to the west "Squad five is only a klick away from seven, take half the squad and intercept Cooper"

BT marks the location on the display and breaks away from the battle with two more pilots in tow. Jack knew them both Higgins and Clancy; Higgins preferred his predator cannon over all else, and Clancy was comfortable with his quad missile launcher.

Higgins's voice calm but tense; sounds over the channel "Squad seven had about six titans in it..."

Clancy is quick to reply "Relax, it's some ace who got lucky, we got this". They round a corner, kicking up gravel and dirt. "Panicking will only make this harder alright?"

Higgins gives a huff "Yeah, we'll have a squad whole at our backs"

"This is squad five, need backup we've got an unknown!"

Cooper pushes BT's actuators to their limit pushing at maximum speed "This is Vanguard Pilot Cooper our ETA is one minute just hang on!"

"Hurry we're down to two!"

The combat was audible now; sporadic fire mixed with the sound of a weapon they couldn't recognize. The three Vanguards round the corner a minute too late, the last Ion of Squad five falls to the gravel, the cockpit a mess of molten metal.

A looming metal figure reloads its weapon in an almost lazy fashion as it turn to Cooper and his group. It's far taller than the average titan, a good ten feet at the most. It shared the same weight class as the Vanguard despite the height. Its legs bore and extra joint, giving it a higher digitigrade stance. The long arms ended in large clawed servos, a mechanism was built into the right arm but it was hard to tell what it was, but it did end in three barrels that were mounted vertically. This strange titan's torso was angular and aerodynamic, carrying some vague similarities to Ronin. Thrusters were mounted on its; six all of a rectangular shaping and folded tight to the back plating. The optics gleam with a rich purple glow; it bore three. The largest a vertical eye unit, a lone one sitting atop and one mounted on the upper right torso that moved in tandem with main optic.

A single medium sized launcher was mounted on the right shoulder, boasting eight small ports. The grey titan's speakers activate. "Good evening" Starts a low, heavy, sonorous voice. The optics do a quick up and down. "These must be the Vanguard class titans that I was warned about". He nudges the molten remains of a Tone "I hope you last longer than these, they were just so slow..."

BT speaks rapidly. "Cooper this titan is an unknown design, I am detecting systems far more advanced than our own. Proceed with extreme caution"

Jack swallows. "Alright BT, fire at will!" The looming grey titan jukes left, the thrusters letting it bound a long distance with ease. That's when the hull flickers, and the titan cloaks from sight, ducking away.

Lawrence watches through his cockpit view as his enemies cautiously follow where he was a moment ago. Hund, Lawrence's custom built titan, speaks patiently "The Vanguards are far better built than the average titan, they pose a greater threat, however the one wielding the predator cannon is far less mobile"

"Our first target..." Lawrence remark, pulling Hund's melee weapon choice from its place on his lower back.

The Vanguards move in a tight circle weapons poised in each direction. With a cloaked enemy vigilance was key, he wasn't invisible, just hard to see. There's a suddenly cacophonous crash, all three whip around to see a forklift on its side, a payload of pipes spilled across the ground.

Higgins turns back, and catches the giant shimmer a second too late. In the blur of knee jerk motion his weapon might as well have been still, the head of an axe slams into his titan's right side. Three batteries explode in their sockets, systems in chaos.

Higgins staggers backwards, cannon spinning as he curses and shouts. With a vicious swipe, a set of claws rake across the optics. Hund is immediately leaping away, his shields failing from a barrage of missiles and bullets. With a few dents, the large titan slides into cover just barely missing another set of missiles.

Jack empties his magazine in that direction as the other titan staggers into a sloppy stance. Smoke and flames plume from the vents of the titan, the optic was a mess, hanging limp in the mounting. Higgins's voice is ragged "Main optics is down, everything's in reboot from the batteries blowing".

"Contact four o'clock!" Clancy shouts opening up at the grey shape that ducks away from the stream of particle bolts.

"Higgins!" Shouts Cooper "get yourself to cover!" The other titan drags the cannon behind it before sluggishly hoisting it in hand. The power surge forced Higgins's titan to use reserve power.

Clancy began to frantic reload "I lost sight of him sir!". Clancy cast a frantic looks every which way. His anger boiled at how he was playing right into this guy's plan. It took a great deal of focus not to crush the splitter rifle in his hands.

Lawrence doubles back behind drainage pipe to the far left of his targets. The machine gun wielding Vanguard is obviously their leader waving down a service path that led to the cooling towers. The one with its heavy cannon was of course lagging behind, throwing sparks and smoke. The cloaked titan lurks along the parallel road, carefully watching the three titans as they move along trying to find a balance between keeping a good pace and watching their angles.

Deftly, Lawrence slides into step with the three titans but still stays a fair distance back. The pack of Vanguards make for a long and deserted road that heads the same way they came, Lawrence makes his move.

Higgins does another sweep through his damaged optics, patches of gravel start being torn up by something he can't see. He shouts over the radio, trying to spin up his Predator Cannon "Contact twe-" he's goes silent at the sound of rending metal. The Vanguard tips over onto its back, half gore splattered axe sprouting from the cockpit.

The grey titan decloaks, and fires a small salvo of rockets at Cooper. Clancy collides with him at full tilt before he could fully recover the axe, sending the weapon spinning into the air.

Warnings flare over Lawrence's vision as he rolls with the tackle, sending Clancy yards away with a two legged kick to the chassis. Righting himself he surges forward faster than any titan Cooper's seen.

For a few scant seconds the purple eyed titan bounds on all fours like some kind of beast before smashing into BT. They roll through the dark dirt and gravel, claws swipe at BT's back, catching one of his launchers and busting the mounting. The axe suddenly embeds itself in a waste pipe, blood like sludge oozes into the dirt as the titans detach.

Hund rights himself quicker and delivers a vicious drop kick to BT's chest. Cooper cries out as they sail through the air, catching the blur of a charging Clancy before smashing into the dirt. Jack shakes his head in the cockpit with a groan "Why is it so god damn fast...?".

"A valid question" .Starts BT as they stands up, one of missile launches hanging limp "Possible conclusion; superior servos. But the most likely explanation is a superior neural link. The question is how".

BT was a mess of claw marks and general hull damage, and this thing still had its main weapon mag-locked to its lower back. Clancy was seeing red, making his attacks wild and sloppy. The enraged pilot swung a wide right cross, Hund catches the arm and plunges his clawed fingers into the socket. In a mess of components and wires the arm goes flying off out of sight. The grey titan delivers its own punch but follows up with a leg sweep.

One foot pining the Vanguards arm, Lawrence drills a hand through the cockpit. A screaming Clancy is plucked from the wrecked titan. Lawrence speaks with finality "Disappointing..." He slams both hands together; the man's body popping like a balloon. Gore splatters across the front of the titan, striking against the grey metal.

A few missiles slam into Hund but the titan only stumbles. Hund whips up his right arm. The three barreled thing on the titan's appendage spews a barrages of energy accelerated rounds. A vortex shield blooms over BT's hand, catching the rounds as he scoops up his rifle. The returned rounds shotgun blast into Hund, busting one of his upper optics.

Jack throws a roundhouse but BT's leg stops short in the other titan's hands. Those claws lash out, slicing into the joint with crunch. BT fires his machine gun but Lawrence twists the appendage with all his might.

"Jack!" shouts BT, engaging his boosters in a desperate tackle that sends him and Hund flying forwards "you need to eject!".

Cooper works at the controls with everything he has, they slam into the already damaged waste pipe. "I'm not leaving BT, never again!". The axe is suddenly yanked from the pipe, allowing red waste to gush freely. The butt of the weapon slams into the side of Jack's cockpit. It followed by a barrage of mini rockets that sent them stumbling on their one good leg.

Another swing; this one striking BT's other knee. They fall backward Jack staring to the stormy sky "Impressive... but not enough" rumbles Lawrence as Hund looms over the crippled BT. The grey titan raises the axe high, Jack shuts his eyes, teeth clenching at his coming end.

"Lawrence dear!" the axe stops millimeters from splitting open BT's optic "you can come back now the Militia is in full retreat, come to this location for evac".

Hund stands fully up right as Lawrence speaks "Our work is done here" Clipping the axe back in place and Hund began to slowly walk backwards "Tell them what you saw..." All Jack sees are those purple optics glimmer before it completely cloaks, lurking away.

With their foe gone the haze of combat and adrenaline finally starts to wear off. Jack moans, finally starting to feel how much he got thrown around cockpit. He aches down to his bones, blood trickles down his head. His lids are suddenly heavy, the last thing he hears is BT saying something about backup before everything goes black.


	3. Part 3: Witness

Project: Lupus

Part: 3 Witness

The massive grey form of Hund slams into the hangar deck of the Gardon. Six thrusters whine to a halt as the titan lowers to a knee. Their handler comes running, her coat fluttering in her wake. She whines to herself as the titan looks her way. With a hiss the cockpit lifts opens, levering upward to let Lawrence land on the floor, grunting softly.

The stout woman does a quick circle around Hund, the two purple optics tracking her "oh...oh dear...oh..." She finally stops before the pair, her hair already frazzling as she looks him over "Boys, damage report!"

Hund perks up, optic shutter clicking "Second armor layer penetrated by 2.4 mm, upper optic 2 damaged ,slight torsion to thruster actuators 4 to 6; overall damage is superficial". The titan zooms in on her concerned features "Handler Sophia, we are both okay".

The woman sighs "I know boys, kill report"

Hund's optic whirr as he compiles on the combat data of the mission before he answers "Pilot Lawrence has terminated 32 infantry, 8 militia Tone-class and 2 SRS Vanguard-class titans before the enemy retreat".

Sophia coos, clapping her hands together, bouncing in place in excitement. With slow hands, the experiment takes holds of his helm, he chose to ignore how the background noise of the hangar grows weaker.

He could feel their stares as the releases on his helmet disengage, and with a gentle pull the headgear comes off.

Lawrence sighs as both triangular, white furred ears, swivel slowly on top of his head. His tongue slides across dark, doggish lips and white but massive teeth. His nine inch muzzle and jaw work slowly as he wonders if he could get the helmet resized. Lawrence looks down with a pair of large, round, royal purple eyes.

Sophia beckons him down, once he's down to a knee Sophia bombards him with praise. She viciously scratches at the thick fur of his neck, earning a low pleased rumbling from his chest. Her smile is broad "You all but stopped that assault on your own and your very first mission no less, ohh..." The woman pushes her forehead to his letting out a hum of satisfaction "you've done so well Lawrence...". She pulls away, grinning like a fool "Project: Lupus is proving to be a rousing success, Hund be a dear and transfer all that combat footage and data to the research heads".

The titan blinks "Beginning data stream now..."

...

Jack awoke to a subtle throb...everywhere. The murky haze of drug induced sleep took its sweet time lifting from his brain. A slow wheezing exhale left him as he tries to move his body, he could; but every movement was just met with more pain. Cooper channels his inner strength and forces his eyelids to open.

The walls of metal around let him know he's at least on some sort of ship, his neck pops painfully as he looks to his left to see many more full beds. Footsteps sound rapidly to his left, and he sluggishly looks that way. Standing over him is Col. Ramel better known as the head of medical on the main battle cruiser. The blonde and aging medic gives him a gruff greeting "Good to see you awake son".

Jack was about to reply but a water bottle was shoved into his face. He half mumbles a 'thankyou' before chugs the half liter bottle in a single go. Once it empties fully down his throat he sighs, wetting his lips Jack speaks "Where's my titan?"

In a few minutes Jack is dressed in his under suit and a few light splints. The combat hadn't actually broken anything, but the pilot was completely riddled with mild fractures and splints from his jaw to a few of his toes. It was all topped off with a moderate concussion that set his brain in a steady pulse of pain.

Right now he hobbles alone on a pair of crutches. Ramel had informed him Briggs wanted him debriefed immediately and she was in the hangar. This wasn't Cooper's first time on crutches, so he makes it to the hanger as fast as he wanted.

The second he got through one of the hangar doors he's assaulted with the sound of rapidly working tools and technicians. The noise stokes the pilot's headache like a campfire, but he could care less.

Briggs is the one he finds first, her red bandanna really stuck among all the green and orange of the militia hardware. He stops to her right, saluting the best he can. "Commander Briggs, you wanted to speak to me"

She sighs with a slow shake of her head "once again Jack it looks like you're the center of the action, walk with me pilot BT's in rack 6-G" Jack hobbles along by her side easily keeping pace despite his one currently working leg.

They pass the many racks still containing the titans that are still in reserve, but that's only because they were in section 5-G. They began to round the corner when Briggs spoke again "Cooper" her voice was gentler "You're going explain to me..." she stops before section 6-G and motions morosely "All of this".

The enormous three floored section of 6-G was working overtime with salvage and repair of all the titans from the failed assault. These were all destroyed by that experimental titan. The pair began walk their way through among busy workers. Jack's eyes wander as he walks "Ten pilots killed within a span of half an hour, we got small flashes of a powerful reactor signature but it kept flickering in and out".

They pass by a tone with a melted mess for a cockpit. Another was missing both legs and its main optic, the Tone beside that one had only one arm and the cockpit was completely caved inward.

Briggs waves to one Tone that was literally pulled halfway open "Look at this damage Jack, no normal titan could do this, half of these things don't even have projectile damage, and they look like they've attacked by some giant predator".

A voice cuts in; low, strong, and modulated "That is because they were Commander Briggs". At the farther edge of section was BT and what's left of the other Vanguards. Cooper's jaw goes tight at the sight of the grey Vanguard and gore strewn mess of its cockpit.

"We're _still_ scraping what's left of Higgins out of there, one of you start explaining, now"

Jack and BT exchange a glance, the pilot nods at his partner and the titan explains. BT looks down at Briggs "27 hours ago we moved to reinforce squad five but were too late, they along with squad seven had all been destroyed by an experimental titan, please stand clear while I provide a visual"

Both moved back, Jack moving to sit on a supply crate as BT projected the footage on the floor between them. It was of the titan standing among the wrecks of squad 5. The woman blinks, one hands rising to scratch underneath her bandanna as she looks over the image of Hund. The image zooms in on the side of titans chassis, the commander squints at the model number on side and the logo beside it "...PL-1...Vinson Dynamics"

"Continuing combat data" The footage continues, rolling through the footage for both of them to see.

Briggs face is a stony mask as she watches the titan duck and juke among her best pilots, dancing around as they scramble to land their hits, she couldn't stop her wince at the axe flying within millimeters of destroying BT, before it just walks away.

Briggs rubs the bridge of her nose as the projection flickers out. "This thing is beyond anything we have the resources to build, any visual of the pilot?"

"Negative" Answers BT as Jack shakes his head.

The woman shakes her head, eyes down cast to the floor. "At least we know what did this, I' going to have a brief of the entire fleet of this, it won't help morale but it I'll be damned if I don't keep my men informed, dismissed Cooper, get some rest, the fleet's still staying the system for now until we figure out our next move".

The pilot salutes as the commander walks away to do what leaders do. He turns to his titan, "Looks like we're fighting with the big dogs huh BT?"

That large optic whirrs in thought "Judging by how that titan charged us, that expression may be more accurate than current data shows..."

...

Far...far away on a lone and thick jungle covered planet sits massive facility built into an on a large mountain waterfall. The surface are smooth and perfectly modern to truly signify those who own it. The massive black and green triangular emblem on the side of the structure's main tower that rises out the mountain's peak makes that clear. This was one of the core labs of Vinson dynamics, in fact, this was a very particular lab.

This was the lab where Lawrence was designed, trained, and raised. And right now the research h were going over the data stream coming in from Hund. And they in turn bounced the signal all the way to VD HQ.

Only an hour passed before contact came from headquarters. A young, pale, dark haired and lanky man stood before the holo display of his superior. He looked rather proud of himself as he received praise from the older scientist, but the last piece of news sent the man literally running to his coworkers

The rest of the research center were all gathered in the main lecture hall. The facility head was at the podium. This was Aron Kaloski head of research, and his lanky second in command Randy Ferron came running in. He stumbles to his confused looking senior researcher and rapidly whispers to him. Aron's face shifts between astonishment, surprise, then to complete elation. Aron grins though his greying black beard, slamming both hands onto his podium, the footage on the massive screen behind now ignored.

"Ladies and Gentlemen please give your full attention!" shouts the man to crowd of lab coats before him "Randy has just given just incredible news!" Randy scrambles down to join his fellow scientists in the seats as the senior scientist went on "the combat data from our first deployed project has just been received as you know, but the heads of Vinson Dynamics have given it a looks over and they were utterly amazed!".

A roll of excited murmurs shakes the crowd while Aron still shouts on "they made the decision to make our research facet of the full focus of all of Vinson Dynamics and funding!" The crowd breaks into an uproar while Aron belts out a mad cackle "Researchers of facet D-4 _ **; The Beasthood Directive is in full affect!"**_

The mass of scientist all rise to their feet applauding and cheering milling about among the crowd _**"All projects are to be accelerated effective immediately, we have so much beautiful work to do!"**_


	4. Part Four: Little Devil

Project Lupus

Part: 4 Little Devil

The Militia fleet didn't linger in the Hydraxis system, nor did it take long for them to pick a different target. But before they could take a crack at another high profile target, they needed to restore the several squads of titan they lost. At the same time, they could get out of this with more than they lost.

For a solid month the weakened fleet carefully lurks in and out of warp to make their way towards the Nalex system. The set of planets were a large and comprehensive supply depot and the nearby moon was a massive long-range communication array. Staying hidden had made their trip long and grueling, a strain on the fuel stores and food. But it left Nalex with only its minor orbital defense detail of a few frigates and a single garrison of troops.

Thankfully the battle on Hydraxis hadn't cost them any ships, so the next battle was somewhat weighed in their favor.

...

Little did the Militia fleet know, the Gardon lurks just out their field of detection. Sophia along with the captain watch the fleet rip out of warp just over the planet. Lupus was in the room as well, leaned against a wall by a support strut in the far back. The IMC fleet in low orbit was thrown into a panic by the sudden attack, coming under fire as they tried to form a defensive line between the Militia and the planet. But what caught the captain's eye was the single battle cruiser veering away from the bulk of the fleet, heading for the moon.

That's when one of the few crewman among the bridge turns from his station. "Sir, we have an incoming encrypted transmission, it's from Vinson Dynamics". Sophia exchanges a look with the captain before nodding "let it through". A few seconds later a hologram of an aging man in a flawless three piece suit, he wasn't all that remarkable. His neck length hair was swept back and smooth. He bore a simple and small pin on the lapel of his coat. It was the logo of Vinson Dynamics. This was Will Vinson, head of Vinson Dynamics.

Sophia nearly jumps out her coat. "Sir!"She scrambles in place for a moment before just giving a quick nod "It's an honor to speak to you Mr.V, what do you need sir".

The hologram grins and waves her off. "C'mooon just call me Will" Remarks the second most powerful man in the galaxy, his old earth Italian accent clear. "So Sophia I'm here to give you congrats on the success of Project: Lupus."

A bit frazzled she replies "Oh but sir I was just doing my job..."

Will snorts "You know what." The shimmering hologram does a slow spin, head swiveling this way and that. "Where is he, I wanna see this 'masterpiece' the report went on about."

Sophia gulps, setting her lips she whistles. In the shadow of the support strut, a pair of ears stand straight. "Lawrence dear, come here and meet our boss; Will" she makes a small beckoning motion.

The experiment makes his way over in long loping strides. Will turns to gawk as Lawrence came to a halt at Sophia's left. Will blinks. "Holy fuckin figure skatin' Christ..." His perfect teeth gleam as he looks her way. "I read all the specs" he gestures wildly to several parts of Lawrence. Who stands silent and wondering why the man is flailing his arms around so much. "Sophia listen, I'm gonna level with ya; this." He waves his hand at the confused wolf. "Is literally the coolest shit I've seen in my fuckin' life; if this is what you call just doin' your job, I 'm afraid of what'll happen if you start freelancin'!"

Sophia blushes as Will turns his attention to Lawrence. "Listen Lawrence I'mma tell you this straight, you." The CEO snaps his fingers at the wolf. "Are history in the god damn making, and as you along with everything the Beasthood Directive is bringin' to the table is gonna rip the frontier a new one." The wolf tilts his head at that last part; was he really that remarkable?

Lawrence gives a bow of his head "Thank you Will, it is an honor to be in service to Vinson Dynamics"

The hologram nod and takes a few steps forward. "Yeah we all are, but ehh...listen kid." Will's tone shifts to something a bit more personal "I know that your situation is pretty messed up right now, I'd bet my left nut that you're thinkin'bout the whole purpose of your existence but let me tell you somethin'."

The man rapidly taps a finger to his chest "Vinson Dynamics takes care of its shit, and you's our biggest project to date, so if any of these guys starting talking shit or not treatin you or the rest of your brothers and sisters right." He points to Sophia "You tell ya ma, and she'll tell me, alright?"

With a strange warm feeling blooming in his chest, Lawrence nods. "Thank you Will, there is a saying 'the lone wolf...is a dead wolf'."

Will nods "Yeah, ain't that the damn truth; by the way the final training for Project: Mustella just finished a few weeks ago. Stealth frigate Galantan will be forming up with you in a few hours" he snaps a pair of finger guns at them. "Kick some ass out there kid, Will, out." The hologram winks out of sight leaving a relieved Sophia and an excited Lawrence.

It looks like he would be joined by one his siblings. Project: Mustella; better known as Jacob and Sheng. The projects in their initial stages were all kept together in their own complex; living like some kind of strange family. Lupus was the first project to leave his incubation chamber. Jacob got out nearly a year later, this made them the two oldest of their steadily growing little 'family'.

Having a sibling around will be such a weight off of Lawrence's shoulders; the stares were starting to get to him. That's when the captain turns to them both. "A Militia cruiser just broke atmosphere on that moon, we need to stop them from taking that array."

Sophia turns back to Lawrence with a measured look. "Lawrence dear, prepare for drop"

...

Cooper couldn't stop a sigh from leaving his lips as he looks over the launch hangar. The Vanguard squad was all present; but two less than they should be. Jack fingers tighten around the controls as the memories of the Hydraxis assault roll through his head.

His temper churns as he gazes into the two empty launch racks. He could barely hear Briggs speaking over the radio channel, too focused on his darkening thoughts. Jack blames himself completely for losing not only a pair of Vanguards, but two pilots as well. No one else in the squad shared his thoughts; all of them just evasively gave the excuse of 'it was a new model, there's no way you could have been ready' but it didn't change how he felt.

A single flick of his eyes towards the upper part of his display shows the countdown only a few seconds from launching them. "BT" starts Jack, grinding his teeth.

An instant answer "yes Jack?"

The counter is rapidly reaching zero "let's rip this system a new one"

"Understood". The timer hits zero and the Vanguard squad rocket towards the moon's surface.

...

Lawrence clips the last few grenades to his belt when his helmet radio comes online with the sweet voice of his handler. "Lawrence dear, the Galantan just got out of warp, Jacob will joining you on the ground". His tails wags slowly under the plated flap that hangs under his jump kit. Francis, sitting just few feet away, was oiling the slide on his Kraber. The man wasn't wearing his helmet, letting his dirty blonde hair breath. Two, sharp, hazel eyes stare into Lawrence framed by a beard and generally stony features. "What's got you in such a good mood, Fido?".

Lawrence didn't bother to dignify the name, pulling his face into an easy smile "My little brother is on his way, he'll be with us in defending the communication array."

That made Francis and the other members of his squad in ear shot glance up from their pre mission rituals "So there's more of you?" grumbles Francis.

Feeling a swell of pride Lawrence nods "Yes, he's my younger brother Jacob is..." The wolf snickers."...it's better if you meet him yourself."

Their dropship pilot announces that he's ready for the drop. Without another word the squad began to pile into the dropship; finding their places among the small seats for the brief ride. On his display Lawrence went over the details of the moon. It was the largest of Nalex's moons, a barren and arid place that bore only a thin veil of oxygen and a weaker gravity field. The ship jerks as it enters warp; and instant later the ships reappears over the desolate landscape. It was craggy rocks and dust for miles in every direction. Francis yanks open the hatch and leads the group down to the sandy earth below.

The captain's voice came through the radio. "Titans on the ground; five seconds". The comet like forms of titan drop pods appearing far above in the sky, five in total.

They all slam into the earth within second of each other, lacking their dome barriers and standing to attention. The four machines bore the classic colors of the IMC, a base white with darker red accenting.

Standing in a line was Tone, Legion, Ion, and lastly a NorthStar. The NorthStar had the front of the cockpit painted with nasty visage of a maw full of bloody teeth. Another pod came down just as the titans stood up. It broke apart midair, the grey shape did a rapid front tuck before crashing to the sand.

Hund rose to his full height and wordlessly walks towards his pilot; the other titans following suit. The prototype titan spoke "re-enforcements warping in now". Hund directs their attention to another dropship that just ripped its way out of warp. It banks gracefully before swinging its bay door their way. Something leaps from the open bay with vicious speed; spinning once in the air before slamming into the dirt. Lawrence grins under his helmet as the new pilot rushes towards him.

The shape slams into him full tilt making him slide several feet. Lawrence wraps both arms around the smaller experiment in a hug "Jacob, it's amazing to see you again!"

The smaller creatures rubs his head into the cowl of thick fur before looking up at him. "Aw Lawrence you got no idea how good it is to see you in one piece! Damn near shat myself when I heard you got sent out for a field test"

Jacob literally backflips off him; landing on both his small feet. He was rather small overall, being designed from a stoat. He stood at five feet and ten inches, but his body was a single mass of taut wiry muscle under his suit. The suit itself was a mired of swooping angles of lightweight alloys, digital forest camo covered the plating as he looks up to his older sibling. He reaches for his helmet without a word, ripping the X shaped visor away to reveal his mustelid features.

His muzzle was short and ended in a small jaw structure and a set of trimmed whiskers. The top of his head was a sandy brown color but from his chin down it was a milky white. Jacobs golden eyes glimmer with elations and raw unending energy. His voice was youthful, and judging from his build Jacob couldn't be older than eighteen "so we gonna kill some bitches or sit around!?"

Lawrence gave a low rumbling chortle giving Jacobs head a scratch; the chuckle grew into a laugh as titan pods fell from the other frigate. A pair of Scorches and Tones made landfall nearby Jacobs's squad, and two his own titan slams to the sand. Bright orange optics gleam through the dust and the tall slim shape of the other half of Project: Mustella bounds forward. The first thing to set it apart was the design of the legs, far longer than most titans and bearing clawed toes. Actual springs were mounted around the hydraulic servos, this somehow let it run the short distance in only a few seconds, long arms swinging at its sides. The torso design was sharp and narrow and bore optic strips much like a Legion, however three optical units sat atop the chassis all triangular in shape. It bore a single mounted launcher on its back, but the design was energy based; with a square scub nose.

A sub machine like weapon sat on its lower back just above a scabbard. The paint job was similar forest green camo much like the pilot. The machine came to a halt, three optics swiveling over present company, and spoke in a, lightly eastern Asian accented, female voice "Sheng-4536 ready for combat"

The Stoat grins, giving Lawrence a punch in the stomach; the wolf didn't budge. "You heard the lady, the fuck we all waitin' for our theme song? Mount up!"

The ten pilots all leap into their respective titan, well in the case of Lawrence and Jacob; phase shift into their cockpits. By the time the normal titans were ready to move, the pair were already sprinting towards the looming shape of the nearby radio dish. Francis was about to muter something about 'damn super titans' when the radio came on.

"We will scout ahead to ascertain the enemy force" said Lawrence as Hund powers up his thrusters. The engines whine before firing; the titan shoots into the air on six jets of blue fire. Sheng just picked up the pace, leaving a large cloud of dust behind her as others took their marked route.

The two squads of IMC titans had formed up into a single unit. All of them sprinting through the sand and rocks. Francis, in his NorthStar, jogs alongside a scorch that was leading the other squad. He probes with awkward small talk. "So...what's yours like?"

The voice of a somewhat older woman replies. "He's a little fuzz ball with a big mouth, but once you get to know him he just cares way too much. How about yours?"

The NorthStar shrugs "He's pretty lonesome, but he doesn't cause any trouble"

The squad starts to round another large rock formation and heading up a steady incline. Once Lawrence speaks over the radio. "We've got a squad of Ions and a few SRS Vanguards and at least half a company of infantry. It won't be long until they activate the defenses; I am doubtful a few reapers are will slow them down that much."

The message earns a growl from both squad leaders. "You all know the plan!" Barks the woman in the Scorch. "We hold the communication array!"

...

Cooper leads the charge as they reach the outskirts of the facility; the other Vanguards only a few steps behind him. Their squad had only four among them counting Cooper; the rest of the Vanguards were on Nalex; spearheading the assault to secure a beachhead.

The Ions were hanging back with the infantry, their task was to keep them covered; and get them to the power station. There was a sudden ping on his display, they just hit the point where the squads would diverge. Jack and his Vanguards had to take the control tower itself; while the rest had to seize control of the power station and control center. BT spins around; letting Jack face the Ion squad. "This is our split, keep those guys alive" The lead Ion, obvious by the detailed serpent nose paint, gives a thumbs up.

Jack already knew there was going to be casualties; this place was no doubt crawling with specters. As if reading his mind, alarms blare around the entire complex. Hidden hatches among the building open up, launch tubes rise from the ground, and turret emplacements power up. Cooper bounces in the cockpit seat; getting ready for the fight ahead. IMC titans were likely already on their way to stop them, but Jack wouldn't fail...not this time. The first few Reapers leap from their launch tubes. The Vanguard squad meets them full force; a wall of ammunition tearing into the machines.

Cover is sparse among the rocks and dunes but they manage; ducking under hills to avoid constant flurry of missiles. The Vanguard with the plasma railgun, Katie was her name, was doing the most damage. The dull orange of her Vanguard blending well with the sand around them. With their combined supporting fire they were allowing her breathing room to properly charge and land her shots.

The group easily made it to the massive power lines that fed from the power station to the disk. Specters began backing up the Reapers; the light arms fire was putting a strain on their shields. It made the Vanguards move with greater haste towards the tower, where they had a better chance at cover. They only needed to hold out long enough for the grunts to shut down the automated defenses; but there was no telling how long that could take.

As Cooper guns down a particularly brave Reaper, BT calls out urgently "Airborne bogey detected, Cooper! The array!" Cooper looks up along with several other Vanguards look up to the dish.

Jack's heart clenches at the tall grey form flying in and latching onto the right support column. In that instant purple optics meet green. Cooper's pulse climbs as they stare each other down.

There's an abrupt, ear shattering, _**Crack!**_

The grey titan jerks to the left; a plasma round streaking by. Lawrence stares with utter calm from inside. "That one will need to suffer..."

Hund pulls the plasma repeater from his back. "Noted" Replies the titan as he leaps into the air, boosters flaring bright.

Cooper's heart leaps up his throat; rifle snapping up to sight his target. "O-open fire!" He barks as the titan takes flight. The grey titan banks, firing rockets at the mass of titans. Hund's rockets had no tracking and could only travel in a straight line; however they flew faster and farther and stuck with greater force.

Most of the salvo is dodged; but a lucky missile his the arm of the Navy Blue Vanguard wielding a tracker cannon. The pilot, Michael was his name, swears under his breath as the single rocket nearly breaks his shields. After another graceful turn Hund's engines suddenly cut out. The titan lands, the sand kicking up in a large dust cloud. The Vanguards fire into the dust cloud; their ammunition disturbs that sand but they can't confirm any hits. A sudden, mild wing gust blows through the area; the large cloud of sand and dust clears slowly.

The grey titan was gone

"Shit..." Michael hissed. His darker blue Vanguard gripping the tracker cannon tighter

Cooper breaks into a cold sweat under his armor; clashing with the boiling frustration in the back of his head. "Keep your eyes peeled he's cloaked!"

The Vanguards began to sweep in every direction; optics swinging left and right to catch the tell-tale shimmer of a cloaked shape. There was sudden shout across the radio from one of the titans. "Land based bogey detected in our AO, moving at high speed. Heading, south east!"

Cooper whirls to the heading; BT's optic zooming in on the tall, slender, shape racing towards them. Jack's heart _seized_. "Hostile is an experimental titan, we have two. Someone get word to Briggs about backup, now!' By the time Jack finished his sentence the new foe was already in firing range. Coming from the south east put Michael the closest. The pilot takes aim; firing down range a second later. The new forest green enemy gracefully jukes the 40mm round and keeps pace. Nerves fizzling, Michael fires rapidly and back pedals; but the new foe simply dodges the ammo flying its way.

Katie was standing farther back from the squad. Her plasma railgun at full charge, between the new titans and the still attacking reapers the battlefield was a storm of mayhem. But Katie was laser focused on the strange unit that Michael was desperately trying to land a shot on. Her aim was powered with a toxic level of contempt. These were the supposed titans that killed off Higgins and Clancy. Katie had known Higgins since they were teenagers; both born on one of the distant farm worlds of the frontier.

Katie sets her jaw 'I'll eat my own fucking liver before I let some IMC lapdog and their fancy clunker get away with this...' In that moment Katie got a feeling that every sharpshooter gets. A tingle that races up her back, the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight. Much like pilot Higgins, Katie caught that grey shimmer just a second too late.

But she wasn't late enough to save herself. In a knee jerk reaction Katie brings the railgun up in both hands. An axe head smashes into the weapon; stopping half way into the magnetic rails. She shoves him back, lunching a flurry of missiles at him. "Engaged with the cloaked bogey, lost my rifle, I need back up!" The busted railgun comes flying back at her, she dashes left. Those few seconds were all Lawrence needed; he crashes into her at full speed.

While those two roll through the sand Michael is failing to defeat the other titan. He was joined by the last of the squad. An ash grey Vanguard, David was his name, fires away with a quad rocket launcher at the fast moving titan. The rapid chattering sub machine gun fire forced them to constantly duck into cover. The rounds were low caliber but clearly of an armor piercing design ripping into their plating easily. "Michael!" Shouts the pilot; his titan speckled with countless small bullet holes. "Go help Katie!"

Michael whirls around to run Katie's way. The other SRS pilot wasn't doing all that well. Lawrence had Katie on her back; the Vanguard was covered in claw marks but managed to lock both hands around the grey titan's wrists. Both Katie's missile launchers were gone, her titan was even missing a finger. Smoke leaks from arm joints and cooling vents. Michael thunders forward leveling his tracker cannon at the titan. Purple open look up and the Hund suddenly throws all weight backwards. Michael hisses as the first round struck Katie's titan in the back. Lawrence fires all six flight thrusters; forcing both titan's in the air. They climb to at least a hundred feet before tossing Katie aside.

Her titan rolls through and scrambles away as a few Reapers prey on her weakness; bright blue projectiles smashing into the sand dune she dove behind.

The second she's out his hands the Lawrence dives at the other titan; arm mounted guns chattering away. The hail of charged rounds slam into a particle wall as Michael backpedals. Hund's shield take a few tracker rounds before the titan rolls in the air; curving to the left too fast for the 40mm shells. Coming out the spin Lawrence levels his plasma repeater unleashing a stream of plasma bolts into the titan's side. The agitated particles rip apart the Vanguards shields before Hund's crashes into the titan shoulder first.

"How are things on your end Jacob?" Grunts Lawrence as he switches his weapon to its alt-fire. The mag rails slide and fold backward. Lawrence stomps on foot onto the tracker cannon and fires into the downed titan. The alternate barrel sent a violent scatter shot into the Vanguard a full eight times before the canister ran dry.

There's was sharp bark of cruel laughter from the other side of the radio. The green titan had performed a rapid leg sweep on the quad launcher wielding Vanguard. Sheng leaps onto the downed machine and reaching for the scabbard on her lower back. From it she pulls out a titan sized knife with a flat single edged blade. The knife is a blur of motion as several holes are stabbed into the cockpit, the blade coming back covered in red.

"They can't even fuckin' touch me man, the Reapers are making this too damn easy" At the very moment all the Reapers suddenly come to a halt. Even the easily forgettable specters stop; heads sliding back into their torsos. The entire mechanized horde going completely silent. "Me and my fat fuckin 'mouth..." groans the Stoat.

Jack groans in relief as the radio sounds out, the infantry commander speaks proudly. "The defenses are down sir, but we got some IMC titans givin' us a serious run for our money sir, half out titan support is already gone"

Jack rolls behind a massive power cable, a storm of anti-armor rounds following. By the time he right himself Jacob is already upon once more. The launcher on Sheng's back raises to fire a scintillating ball of electricity. The optics flicker as BT was slowed by the power surge; the titan slams into BT with incredible speed using both feet. The green titan literally vaults off BT's chest, doing a complete back tuck before landing in the sand. By the time visuals were fully restored Jacob was closing in again.

Meanwhile Katie was doing her best to fend off Lawrence while Michael struggles to get his titan standing. The barrage of plasma had melted the cockpit shut and left countless systems in disarray. By some miracle the main optic was still online but it flickers and fizzles. "Michael, get up!"Shrieks Katie just barely managing to dodge a set of rockets. The young pilot, nose bleeding, shakes his head as his titan stands up fully; just in time to see Katie get a vicious kick. His tracker cannon is intact but sitting in the sand a good 100 or so feet away. Naturally he makes a mad dash for the weapon; the loping footfalls of his foe getting louder by the second.

He dives for it; the entire cockpit shakes as he scoops up the weapon. Michael pops up in a firing position only for a mass of grey metal to smash into him full tilt. More hull damage warnings sound as his titan tumbles; a death grip on the tracker cannon. The Vanguard pilot screams and roars; firing at his enemy despite the claws racking at his own titan. In the spin of motion Michael ends against one of the Reaper launch tubes. The tracker cannon is out his hands from the impact before the massive gun could hit the sand Lawrence grabs it by the barrel. The grey titan suddenly fires its thrusters, all of them at a diagonal. Lawrence spins in the air; the first kick smashes into the raised arms of Michael's Vanguard. The next kick knocks the appendages out the way; and the grey tian swings the tracker cannon with the full momentum of his rotation.

The forces breaks the cannon in two; and rips the SERE kit free of Michael's titan in a shower of wires and parts. Lawrence tosses away the other half of the cannon as the Vanguard wobbles on its feet. Inside Michael curses and panics " **FUCK, KATIEEE!"** he screams through the remaining external speakers

Jack turns at the scream, but Jacob delivers a drop kick to BT's back, sending them face first into the sand.

Lawrence spins the titan around and plants clawed foot onto the titan's back. Gripping both arms tight, Lawrence _pulls._ Hund's servos give a long purr of effort while the joints of Michael's Vanguard groan and crack. "You won't be needing these..." Lawrence grits his teeth his teeth as the actuators hit max power.

With a deep crunch of metal and crack off severing wires both arms rip free of the wrecked Vanguard. Katie was farther back; her titan lacking any kind of weapon. "Jack, I'm calling for backup!" she calls over the radio.

"Do it!" Cooper barks back, missing Jacob yet again; staggering back while his vortex shield catches the return fire.

Lawrence lets the two arms fall to the ground. Lazily; he grabs the leg of the crippled Vanguard and walks away from the Launch tube. Michael's titan leaves a trail of coolant and hydraulic fluid as Lawrence drags him like a hunter with a fresh kill. Inside Michael frantically gathers the weapons that were stowed away in the cockpit; a magnetic grenade launcher and his trusty Hemlock. His silent prayers are answered as he works the upper emergency hatch. The escape hatch fights him for every inch but he forces the hatch open and worms his way out. Michael, in his scrambling, doesn't notice a single purple optic swivel around to look at him. "He's running..." casually remark Hund.

"Oh." Grunts Lawrence, spinning his chassis around "hold on..." He yanks the launcher off the Vanguard, he bounces it in hand for a moment before hurling it like a football. The hunk of metal flew true; Michael hears the mass hurdling through the air behind him. He spins only catching a blurry glimpse off the object before diving; it lands on his legs. Michael lets out a bestial howl of agony as most of his lower body is pulverized. "Impressive accuracy" remarks Hund

Jacob grins toothily inside his cockpit. Sheng was marred with scratches and dents, several close calls that couldn't land. BT was riddled with small bullet holes, several had bitten deep in vital systems.

Shengs external speakers turn on. Jacob leans the submachine gun lazily on Sheng's shoulder. "Well it looks like someone's having a real shit day" Remarks Jacob, slowly walking forward. Jack didn't humor the taunt; firing the last of his magazine. Once again the green titan jukes with an incredibly speed; great plumes of sand blasting up where its feet hit the ground. Snarling through his teeth Cooper does his best to track his target while dodging the high powered rounds flying his way.

Without warning there a powerful groan of machinery, all eyes go to the massive communication array that was adjusting its angle. The furious voice of Francis calls over the IMC wavelength. "Lawrence, we took down most of the Militia here but the last of'em have sealed themselves in the control room, their sending some kind of distress call to their fleet and a data stream to the planet of Harmony!" A second later the Captain of the Gardon speaks out "if that signal gets through we could have the rest of the Militia armada on their way here, they've already secured a beachhead on Nalex. I'm giving the both of you permission, stop that transmission at all costs. I don't care if that entire place is a molten crater!"

"Quick Sheng" Starts Jacob, his young voice cracking. "What the closest part of this thing we can fuck up!"

"Marking" She said back, a small blip appears in his display; directing to a larger underground section at the base where all the powerlines met. "The power junction regulates the power flow to the antennae, it will overload without it functioning properly" explains Sheng.

Hund had done his own scan of the tower and devises to destroy the signal targeting array, without, that message would broadcast on all wavelengths, letting anyone in the frontier know the Militia's business. Hund's thrusters fire; lifting him into the air before a sudden forty ton weight crashes into him. Katie swears as she hangs onto the grey titan, the sudden influx of weight threw off Hund's stabilizers, and Katie's wild punching wasn't helping either. "Lawrence" Starts Hund as they careen towards the tower "we now fully agree on making this particular pilot suffer greater damage".

Lawrence chortles at his titan's statement despite the situation, even as they crash into massive bowl of the dish. The Vanguard rolls across the dish, righting herself in deft roll. Lawrence stands his titan to his full height. Lawrence pulls the axe from Hund's back in the left hand points at the titan with the other "try to stop to me" Katie's eyes flicker in hesitation as a canine growl rolls from the other titan's speakers "watch what happens..."

Lawrence takes a few steps forward, letting his rocket launcher aim at the targeting array. As expected, the Vanguard pilot charges him with battle cry.

Back on the ground Jacob suddenly breaks away from BT just they watch Katie and Hund crash into the dish. "Cooper, they are trying to destroy the power junction, we must stop that pilot" Jack tears of after the other titan. The camo green titan's legs move in long graceful strides that carry it faster than the Vanguard. Once Jacob makes it onto the concrete he spins around to fire a burst but Jack catches most of it in the vortex shield. The Vanguard runs along the power line as they make it to the power junction. It was a large structure that was mostly underground consisting of several massive transformers. Sheng slides to the northern part of the junction, crouching down at a maintenance door.

"Jacob we are too large to fit inside the, you must disembark" The cockpit opens and the stoat leaps out before the door "I will hold off any resistance until your task in complete"

Jacob punches the release on the maintenance door and gives her a thumbs up. "I'll be fast darlin' stay safe alright?!"

"Understood, we will not fail our first mission" Replies Sheng hefting her gun and lumbering around the corner to find her target.

On the west wall BT kneels down to let Cooper out. "That pilot and titan have separated, you must stop him, we will engage with the titan". Jack could only give a clipped thumbs up before tearing through the access hatch. The interior is lit mostly by the crackling light of exposed heavy wiring. Jack tears off from the catwalk he stood, running along the wall and leaping to the lower level. He barely misses a crackling cable before landing with a roll and kept running. "Cooper, I must remind you to proceed with extreme caution, from what few scans we could attain, these are not normal pilots"

Jack bounds off a giant power cable to slide down a concrete wall, heading towards the center "yeah, I kinda figured that. Their reactions are just way too fast to be your typical IMC hired goon"

After a few more jump he makes it to the main transformers. Three massive rectangular machines that are all connected to the large cables from outside. Cooper could see his target, he wasn't all that large. He walks with a hurried energy as he tosses charges all over the massive pieces of equipment. The pilot bounced from foot to foot and moves with the rapid swaying of his...tail. Eyes bulging, Jack sets his helmet to record everything from then on. "What in the name of Christ..." Mutters jack as he creeps on the catwalk a few steps and unslung his Flatline. The other pilot freezes in before spinning to face jack. An SMG similar to his titan's sat in his hands

Jack ducks down behind a power line as a stream of bullets rake the wall where he was a moment ago. He pops up to fire down at the strange pilot. The pilot _blurs_ , putting this sudden burst of motion a he tears off to the left; his sleek jump kit fires letting him bound of a pair of pipes before he was on the same catwalk. They meet eyes for a moment, or at least they see he each other from within their helmet. That's when the pilot _hisses_ ; breaking into a sprint too fast for a human.

About three hundred feet up a horribly one sided duel is coming to a close. Katie titan takes another swift axe swing to chest, the Vanguard stagger but takes another swing at the other machine. The axe arm smacks away the punch and Lawrence plunges a clawed hand into the right side; goring batteries in the titans side. Lawrence rips his hand back out, sending three damaged batteries rolling across the dish.

With power draining the titan staggers on its feet while Katie fights to regain control. Hund's launcher swivels and fires into the targeting array, blowing it apart in a shower of fragile components. Lawrence swings the axe across the Vanguard's front with enough force to break several bindings and lunges forward with the other hand. Katie shrieks as the cockpit is shredded and the massive hand wraps around her middle.

Once the pilot is free Lawrence swings the axe one last time, splitting the Vanguard's optic down the middle and embedding the axe in the cockpit. He stares at the trembling female in Hund's clawed fingers as her Vanguard pitches backward. Katie struggles, twisting this way and that as her titan topples onto its back. That struggling stops at a sudden hiss of depressurization. The grey titan allows the cockpit hatch to unfold out the way of the pilot.

Lawrence stands on the lip of the hatch taking two small steps forward. He gives a long lazy stretch; stiff from being stuck in the cockpit all day. Katie looks down at the strange sound of something sliding against fabric, she dares to look down between his legs to see a furry tail sliding against the ballistic fabric hanging from his jump kit.

Her jaws goes slack as she slowly looks back up at him. "Wh-what the fuck are you!"

The helmet tilts to the left in a doggish manner, and the looming creatures lower into a squat; the titan lifting her a few inches. For a moment she just stares into the helmet while Lawrence is silent in his thoughts. He was weighing his options on what he was about to do...he made his decision. Lawrence slowly raises his hands to grab at the chin of his helmet; at a small neural command the bindings holding the helmet in place opened, letting it slip free. The helmet slips free and the regards her without any filter.

She isn't even forming words anymore; just whimpering and fighting at Hund's hand. There was certain feral intensity to her motion, this was _fear_ , raw and pure fear. The wolf could smell it coming off her. Coming off her smaller, weaker form; for the first time Lawrence looked upon an SRS Vanguard pilot. These were supposedly the core of Militia's might, gleaming incredible knights in service to their cause. Yet here one was, sniveling like a child before him, this victory over Katie was striking a deep chord in Lawrence. Sure he'd badly beaten Vanguards before but now he was _seeing_ the ruin of his foe, he could _smell_ her fear in the air. Lunging a hand forward, he grips her helmet with crushing force before ripping it off. Short, sweat matted blonde hair frames the face of a pale woman in her mid-twenties.

Katie raises both hands. "Please!" she squeals, the smell of terror growing even stronger. "I surrender p-please..." She swallows trying to set her shaking lower jaw "just, I beg you make it quick"

Lawrence finds himself reveling in her fear; face stretching into a horrid grin. "I could just end you here, but maybe there are many things that you can tell me..."

There's a sudden series of crackling pops, the sound of ships coming out of warp.

"Lawrence, hostile anti-titan aircraft incoming, Militia reinforcements" said Hund gripping the pilot with a bit more urgency.

Lawrence suddenly grabs Katie by throat, Hund gently letting go so the wolf's unnatural strength hoists her to eye level. Lawrence _growls_ so close that she could feel the vibration on her face but his voice more patronizing than angry. "Looks like your lucky day madam, I'll be sure to be through next time we meet" He lets go, letting her fall twenty feet to the dish. Her jump kit makes it completely manageably; but she trips onto her backside as the grey titan seals the cockpit.

A missile streaks by and Lawrence retaliates with a flurry of rocket. In a light half step Hund recovers his axe. "Brother!" barks Lawrence "the tower is destroyed, we are no longer needed here"

Hund flips over the edge of the dish, Sheng sprinting away from the smoking dish. "Yeah let's get the fuck outta here"

The captain speaks over their channel "good work you two, the system may now be isolated but they have no way of getting reinforcements, but they've success on Nalex. We'll talk about this more on the ship, form back up with your squads and get to the extraction point"

...

Katie leans against what's left of her titan as friendly dropships come to a hover over head. The young pilot is still reeling from the battle, the destruction of RY-9537, her Vanguard titan. But most of all she was shocked at what she had seen only a few minutes ago. She heard the sound of boots hitting metal of the radar dish.

A hand firmly lands on her shoulder, turning her around gently. It was medic along with a squad of pilots. Two other ships came along and began the work of attaching cables to the chassis of her titan. "Ma'am" starts the medic, already pulling her towards the dropship "We need to go now"

She ushered on the ship in her daze, she looks through the window as it shuts. Several other and their recovery crews were working frantically to hitch up the wreck titans. Even BT was being hoisted up. Katie gives a weak shuddering sigh before slumping against the wall; waiting out the ride. The ship's warp drive activates and it rockets away, the other ships all flock in the same direction; vanishing from sight. Katie stares into space as the medic checks her over with careful precision.

The image of that snaring maw full of teeth just won't leave her mind, she pinches her eyes shut and thumps her head against the back of the ship. Feeling the cool metal thump on the back maker her eyes shoot wide... _where the fuck is my helmet?_

...

The two prototype titans come to a halt at the extraction point, one landing while the other skids to a stop.

"We have arrived at the extraction point, eta for pickup is ten minutes, friendly titan arrival time five minutes" Said Sheng, slinging her weapon to her lower back. Her cockpit open with a hiss, the plates sliding vertically upward and downward. Jacob leaps out whooping in excitement, Hund kneels and his hatch levers open. The titan offers a hand and Lawrence walks down to the sand, giving the titan's arm an affectionate pat as he walks to his sibling. The helmet he took hangs from his hip small and grey in color. His own helmet is clipped to the other side while he smiles at his brother.

"First mission is a success" Lawrence remarks

"Yeah it is!" Shouts Jacob

There's a brief bout of silence

"I feel so fucking badass right now man!" Barks the stoat, fists clenching

"You should, you stabbed that Vanguard like it was your destiny" snorts the wolf

"Yeah man, it looks like this whole fightin' the Militia thing is gonna be boring as hell, might have to give you some just have any damn fun" Jacob chirps, long tail wagging under his jump kit.

Lawrence's smile grows into wicked grin as he looks down at his brother "oh really Jacob?"

Jacob slips his helmet off revealing his weasel like features, he tosses the helmet over his shoulder; Sheng catching it without effort. "Yeah..." With a short laugh he suddenly lunges at his brother, throwing his full weight into the tackle. They roughhouse in the sand, wrestling and kicking, Jacob's agility balancing against Lawrence's greater size and strength. The titans simply standby, giving the occasional glance at the pair as the roll around in the dirt. That's when the Galantan finally came into the sight rumbling the air under the power of its propulsion. All the open dessert gave the frigate more than enough room to touch down

It was enough to get the elated brothers to finally detach. They both shook their bodies, rattling their equipment and shaking off most of the dust. The IMC squad finally came into with a about four titans less, however four pilots were riding on the backs of their squad mates. Francis open his cockpit as they lumber on board the Galantan. "How'd things go on your end?" Said Francis as the bay door shut

The wolf gives him a measured smile, to be frank Lawrence still didn't fully trust the man; or anyone in the IMC really. "it went well, we've destroyed two more Vanguard class titans, and..." Lawrence reaches back and unclips the helmet and hold it up for him to see "a trophy"

Francis jumps down from the NorthStar giving him a lazy grin "not bad there Scoob, gonna have it scanned for anything useful?"

The wolf nods "of course and..." He rotates it to look into the visor...he could still smell the pilot's terror. "I'm going to start a collection..."


	5. Part Five: Not So Little Devil

Project Lupus

Part 5: Not so Little Devil

The planet of Nalex was one of the larger garden worlds among the Frontier. The IMC had been using it for storage before the Militia had led their vivacious assault on the central facility. On the largest continent is a massive place, several times larger than the one on Hydraxis the rebels had failed to take. However in the assault of installation 4753-E, better known as 'The Cog', Hund and Jacob were not present to stop the attack led by the rest of the Vanguard among their fleet.

The Cog is a place nearly the size of a city and is devoted to several things; large scale storage, and the fabrications and assembly of nearly anything the IMC needed. The Militia had mustered all of their Vanguards for the assault; Brigg's personal Marauder core had lost many of its pilots but there are multiple elite pilot squads among the fleet. A total of 30 Vanguard class titans lead the charge on the facility. The defense detail didn't stand a chance, The Cog was under Militia control within a single day.

The IMC fleet in charge of protecting the planet had been beaten and butchered down to a few ships. Those remaining vessels were mangled, crippled, and not even in good enough shape to attempt reentry. These ships desperately warned all other bases and facilities on the planet of Nalex; a large hostile force just took the largest stock pile on world.

Right now Sophia stood with the captain as the old man looks a holographic display with a scathing expression. "This is big sack of shit we have on our hands, that facility is one of the most heavily fortified place on world, not to mention loaded with enough materials and ammo to last them a few centuries" The Captain rubs the bridge of his nose "Let's not even talk about all the fabrication equipment, they could literally build anything with the proper schematics"

Sophia nods "They've dug themselves in deep, the other facilities are no doubt in their sights"

The captain gives a tired nod "We could probably contain them; but not even Lawrence and Jacob could take that place down, at least not alone, we are severely undermanned. Mounting any kind of attack would be a complete crap shoot, I need to get in contact with anybody on the ground, but even now those Militia dogs could be building more Vanguards down there..."

Sophia's brows shoot into her hair. "Gods above..."

The man nods "Yes, The Cog has everything needed to construct new titans, and the fleet is only a few ships strong and dead in the vacuum"

The man sighs "We have no way of wining this on our own, with our current well...anything"

...

Jack sits on BT's back as the Vanguard lumbers his way down one of the many paths among The Cog. They were heading for the massive improvised garage that the rest of the Vanguards were resting in. Briggs had most of the fleet's engineers working around the clock in the fabrication centers. She wanted brand new Vanguards ready as soon as possible. She even had several training camps running to get pilots ready for the new titans.

After another turn the pair arrive at a large rectangular building that went three levels into the ground. A few guards on the ground stand at the two sides of the main access door for the lowest. Jack waves and the one by the door switch nods, slamming a fist into the glowing green button. With a groan of hydraulics the door sinks into the ground; letting the Vanguard and pilot walk through. Immediately they were assaulted by the sound of working machinery and tools. Just like on their cruiser, the Vanguards had their own area for repair. Jack still couldn't shake the feeling of failure as the last repairs on Katie's titan are underway.

That didn't say much about the pilot, Katie had been despondent ever since her encounter with the experiment. She had given a full report on her experience, and even now she was still shaken horribly. Briggs and the other Vanguard pilots were the only ones Katie was willing to open up about it.

Jack couldn't help but shake his head as he recalls her story. BT speaks up through his helmet  
"Jack, you are contemplating the report given by pilot Katie Thompson..."

Cooper nods as they stop by a catwalk, holding out a hand for the pilot to step down. "Yeah I am, I know technology these days is pretty damn amazing, I mean look at you..."

The titan glances down at himself "That is correct, however what her report describes is something of high level biogenetic engineering"

Jack pulls off his helmet, clipping it to his belt. "Yeah, building a werewolf sounds like something out of a comic book"

BT blinks "The pilot you faced in the power station was not fully human as either, from our scan of the footage your foe had spliced DNA with an earth Mustelid."

Jack runs a hand through his hair. "So a wolf and a weasel, what's next" The young man chuckles. "A lion or something?"

The massive machine blinks "Let's hope not, such an entity would pose a massive threat in hand to hand combat"

The weak smile is instantly wiped off his face as he realizes that was completely possible. He didn't get a chance to mull over his poorly made joke because another one of the Vanguard pilots walks over. He was wearing something close to a grapple kit, done up in the classic Militia green and orange. The patch on his shoulder was marauder core, however the patch fresh and utterly pristine. This was one of the new Vanguard pilots in training, the pilot nods "Sir" A youthful but solid voice sounds from his helmet. He quickly walks over to where a few more experienced pilots are standing at a set of simulation pods. Curious, the rifleman turned pilot made his way over, BT, as always, follows close behind.

"What's goin' on?" Starts Cooper with a no small amount of caution. Jack was still a bit cautious when around other Vanguard pilots, some only saw him as an upstart and a fluke; rather than a full-fledged pilot.

Thankfully whoever the greying pilot was he could care less "Eh, we're working ourselves and these noobies to the bone trying to get them ready for the new Vanguards. The first fresh batch is gonna be ready in a few more days, and we gotta get as many of our pilots ready in that amount if time"

Jack knew they needed more pilots to replace the one's they lost; but Cooper couldn't help but feel a twinge in his heart at the thought of leading new pilots who aren't fully used to Vanguards into battle. Especially if they run into those experiments again.

Yet again it seems that Jack projects his thoughts onto others. The aging pilot, standing among two others who looks to be in there mid-thirties, look at Cooper with minor concern. "So we heard about the reports..."

The older pilot leans against the rail, jumpkit clanking on the bar. "We might be facing something like that out there on our next op, can you give us a proper explanation" He blinks. "If it's not too difficult, Jack"

He nods slowly; motioning for BT to kneel down "Yeah sure, you should get your titans over here they should hear this too"

There was a round of nods and the two middle aged pilots tap at things on their shoulders. The elder pilots looks off before pushing a pair of fingers past his lips. An ear-piercing whistle sounds out, carrying a great distance. A few minutes later the distinct sound of Vanguard footfalls sound out among the usual din of the area. The three machines lumbers to a halt in a mix of blacks and orange, all of them crouch down beside their human partners.

Having six human eyes and three titan optics looking at him at once, he swallows silently running a hand through his dark hair. "BT, you got enough footage to give decent dimensions?"

The titan blinks his single large eye "Processing, generating three dimensional projection" his optic flares up to show a shimmering holographic image of Hund and Sheng. It was scaled down to a four foot tall model. The eldest pilot takes a slow step forward and crouches before the image, brow furrowed "Size comparison"

BT obliges; a moment later the image of the slightly smaller Vanguard chassis "the first hostile chassis is nine feet taller than the Vanguard chassis, weight; approximately fifty five tons. The second unit is has a height difference of seven feet. Approximate weight; twenty five tons"

The other middle aged pilot, a blonde and surly looking woman, speaks up. "Those are hexagonal linked thrusters, never thought they'd build a mid-size titan capable of flight"

Jack nods "It can, it's pretty fast too despite that weight. Take a look at the hands on both of them" They obey, the titans even zooming in. The orange and grey titan, linked to the oldest pilot, blinks its optic "Nanofilament claws; any kind of grappling would result in hull damage"

Jack pipes up "There's one good thing, it doesn't have any defensive measures, so far at least"

Another slow round of nods. "That's something for now..." Remarks the elder pilots "what about the other one, looks pretty lightweight"

Cooper rubs his face "Yeah, it's fast...way too motherfuckin' fast"

The female pilot glances up from the image. "What was he packing?"

BT blinks his optic "Only two weapons were used against us; a small automatic anti-armor weapon, and a single shoulder mounted thunderbolt cannon. The titan frame is also extremely agile"

The grey haired pilot works his jaw. "How agile we talkin'?" Pilots like this one were deeply valued among the Militia. Having experienced pilots was vital to their success. Jack desperately hopes this pilot won't run into one of the experiments. It's not that he doubted the man's skills, but those titans were a whole new level.

Cooper gives the older pilot a calm but grave look. "He manages a drop kick that transferred into a back tuck. Bastard even stuck the landing without a damn problem"

The old man rubs his stubble coated chin. "Best way to deal with the fast types is to get'em somewhere they can't move, and the other one can't mitigate incoming damage, that's our money shot"

Jack nods "We need to get strategy book together maybe with the right plan we can takes these guys down"

The older pilot huffs through his nose "Better to capture'em, might shed some light on where these new titans are coming from, I'll bring this up with Briggs, thanks Coop"

The younger pilot nods. He manages a smile while his thoughts still stew on the losses guaranteed in their future.

...

Lupus stood with his younger brother in one of the farther corners of the Galantan's bridge. Jacob's handler, a moderately built and dark skinned man named Randell, stood with the captain. Just like Sophia, Randell was the head of design for his project, and had a strong emotional connection to his experiment.

The two experiments had hearing far superior to human so they spoke to each other while catching snatches of whatever they said.

Jacob scratches behind his left ear "Sounds like the rebels got themselves dug in real deep, those fucker's are even buildin' more of their little Vanguards"

The larger creature blinks. "Jacob we don't have nearly enough firepower to fully route them from that facility. We need a heavy hitter brother, but even then we can't just blow the place sky high"

Jacob starts to spin one of his sonar knives. "Yeah...we can't just fight'em we need to do somethin' drastic"

Lawrence and Jacob look to each other "We need our sister Jacob" sighs the wolf.

The Stoat grins "Aww shit..." A twisted crackling laugh bubbles from him. "How's that communication array doin'?"

The wolf stands up fully from the wall he was leaning on, and briskly walks his way over to the captain with Jacob just behind him.

Once close enough the looming wolf clears his throat, the sound like cutting through the air easily. Naturally Sophia answers first "yes Lawrence?"

Lawrence glances at the captain before speaking "It's clear that we do not have the firepower alone to defeat them, but they can be crippled, we need to contact our Laboratory about the progress on Project: Crocuta"

The name cause both handlers to blink "He's got a point Sophia. Those two are meant to be the muscle of their unit."

The captain cuts in lightly "The repair on the array will be complete in about sixteen hours. But the second we're transmitting, they will know"

Jacob huffs. "Yeah we know that, with her here we could tips things our way"

The captain looks to both handlers who nod rapidly at him. With a sigh the man gives an agreeing nod "Very well, the Galantan will head for the array and we will make this transmission"

...

The ride down was a tense one as both experiment prepared for their brief guard duty. When they finally arrived at the massive control tower where a large team of engineers from the Galantan and Gardon. The Gardon arrives; warping its way into the area and sending mild shockwave over the surrounding landscape.

The heavy voice of the Galantan's captain sounds out. "We're connecting now, be on your toes" A few scant minutes crawl by as the transmission shoots across several light years. This had the array working at max power. Right now they might as well put up a big flashing bullseye. Hund and Lawrence sat on the rear end of the Gardon; staring out into the dessert over the large system of thrusters idling below them.

The ash colored titan was down on one knee with Lawrence perched on his back, helmet under an arm. One upper optic swivels to look at the wolf, due to heightened but steady heart rate Hund took greater concern for his pilot. "All scanners are clear..."Remarks the AI; cutting through the silence. Lawrence's nods sharply, staring out into the dessert, he was more absorbed in his thoughts. The wolf quietly reflects on his past actions and subtle sensations he felt just under the smooth sheet of focus he maintains during combat.

He recalls all of his kills, particularly the slaughter he committed on Hydraxis. Sure bringing down titans is something he's beginning to take great deal of pride in. The way he would fell his slower and weaker foes would further cement the confidence he had in his abilities. But that wasn't all that important, what truly struck deep was defeating the _pilots._ The titan could feel the slight shift in Lawrence's brain activity, the very same emotions seamlessly flow into Hund's processor. At once they both understood one thing.

Defeating-no... _destroying_ those pilots gave them both a satisfaction so deep in could it could called primal. The feeling of metal hulls rupturing under Hund's blows. The sensation of bones breaking in Lawrence's hands. It wasn't about their allegiances, the sides they were on. No, it was the challenge, the _sport._ To do battle, to crush those who are weaker, to overcome each hurdle and obstacle. To _win,_ to _claim_ , to _dominate_ , to instill _terror_ , to gain _power_.

It all just felt so _right..._

Without a word Lawrence steps down onto Hund's hand. The pair stare into each other's eyes, in this moment their bond became all the stronger, not because of equipment or training. But by achieving a greater understanding of themselves, and of each other.

At the same time the wolf blinks and the titan's optic shutters cycle. Lawrence gives a toothy smile, Hund's thrusters waggle almost playfully.

A familiar voice suddenly speaks over their channel "This is a private Vinson Dynamics channel, identify yourself" Came the cultured voice of Aron Kaloski over the channel.

Sophia sighs "Oh thank goodness, Sir this is handlers Sophia and Randell requesting additional support. We're commencing a data stream of new combat data from both projects"

"Excellent, please explain the situation"

Randell took his turn to speak. "Yes sir, the Militia has taken over a large scale storage and fabrication center. At their current strength the IMC is unable to route them from that center. This place is extremely fortified sir, and they can construct anything they have the means to"

Aron hums over the "I see, Project: Desmondontinae and Project: Crocuta have been very eager, and their skill sets should prove useful. I will have them on their way as fast I can. Those two will be so happy to see their older brothers again. You have a wait time of about forty five hours"

Sophia's grateful tone replies. "Thankyou sir, despite our situation the experiments have been performing incredibly"

Aron chuckles over the channel. "As expected, please stream more data whenever the situation allows it, you are doing our corporation proud. Kaloski out"

The Gardon's captain speaks over the same channel "people it's in our best interest that we make this communication array our base of operations for now"

Lawrence feels the ship begin to descend. "He's correct, this array is a key point in the system and beside. We're gonna be working on Nalex for a while"

...

The net two days the Vinson Dynamics unit did their best to dwindle the enemy force. The Militia with their large central base and greater numbers meant the experiments could attack whatever forces ventured out. The next forty hours were spend harassing enemy scouting parties. These small groups usually only consisted of a few pilots and a single squad of light infantry. They made easy targets for Jacob and Lawrence. But they couldn't be everywhere at once. The Militia had amassed a large force that hurtled rapidly towards an installation about seventy kilometers southwest from their current base.

The smaller base was made for specter construction and programming. Taking this place would get them a steady supply of infantry support. Several Militia ships cruise at a steady speed towards the small base. It was built inside a thick forest of massive trees that made landing even their drop ships a challenge. It only gave the defensive contingent enough time to properly mount their defense. This sent Militia drop ships swerving to dodge archer missiles streaking out from the trees. Militia vessels in low orbit began launching titans down into the forest. Where they met with IMC pilots and large mobs of specters. Naturally Lawrence and Jacob were coordinated to stop the attack.

Both brothers sat with their titans and respective support squads in their launch pods. Sophia's voice speaks over the channel. "Your orders are simple; repel the enemy attack. Squad leaders Francis and Heather are you ready?"

"Ready ma'am" Said the sniper

"Let's get this shit done" Grumbles Heather from the cockpit of her Scorch.

"We'll be dropping you just outside the facility, the defense detail are holding their own but they won't last long. Launching in ten seconds"

Jacob bounces in his seat, Lawrence drums clawed fingers on an arm rest. A small smirk graces his lips as the timer hits zero. The titans launch from upper orbit. The world around them shakes and trembles for a scant few seconds before the pods breaks apart sending the twelve titans into freefall. In a great chorus of crashing metal

"Whoo!" squeals Jacob, his light weight frame springing to her feet. "I never get tired of that!"

The squad leader with her Scorch titan stomps to Jacobs's side, the cockpit painted in the horrid visage of hell's three headed watch dog. She lightly shoves the green titan with a shoulder. "Keep your lid on little man, now c'mon"

Jacob let's out a somewhat shaky but excited laugh. "Y-Yeah Heather I got your back ya know that!" Heather grunts and keeps up her titans lumbering gait. The green titans easily keeps up as the two squads move forwards away from the main gate of the facility toward the large commotion of battle only about a kilometer away from the facility. The sound of violent battle starts to bounce off the massive trees all over the area.

The two squads hit a steep and rocky incline. Jacob hops, bounding off a tree and lands at the bottom. His brother slams into the grass at his side; leaving the rest to stumble their way down. "Yeah yeaah you're both fuckin amazing..." Grumbles Francis, thrusters puffing as he reaches the bottom. That's when a stray missile hits a tree nearby, as a group they continues. Soon they can see large mob-like squads of specters marching along in the same direction. Large squads of IMC titans could be seen just a bit away doing their best to hold off a much larger force of Militia titans that outnumbered four to one.

An ion with a bright red stripe down the center chest turns to them. A voice crackles over their channel "Thank fuck you're here, they've got more on the way!" Just as he said this another six hostile titans slam to the earth a fair distance away.

"Same drill as usual people, let's get to work!" Barks Francis; NorthStar taking to the air. A moment later a hostile tone lost an arm to plasma shell. A pair of incendiary canisters soar in a smoot ark over their heads to land by a squad of infantry and Ion. The second the canister lands and an incendiary grenade crashes into the Ion's shoulder .The massive high heat explosion engulfs them. The men are ash and the titan stumbles away from the burning pool, thermite eating at the plating. Heather reloads her launcher "Jacob can ya corral'em a little for me?"

"You fukin know I can..." Barks the stoat titan dropping into a squat; springs compressing before leaping into the air. The green titan collides with a tree, bounding off the bark easily. He does this a full three times before he comes back down on the far side of their force. He lands on the back of an unsuspecting Tone, and plunges his knife into its back. His sudden change on position has them dividing their attention; especially with his machine opening up on them.

Lawrence was the other side of the battle field, lurking around a pair of Ion's dealing with a rather large mob of specters and lone and badly battered Ronin model. The titan was still standing strong despite the damage, blade held up and blocking incoming fire. Lawrence comes speeding in at the right most Ion, axe smashing into the firing arm. Hund's claws dig into the upper cockpit and he yanks his axe back to swing into the cockpit and main optic. The other Ion turns to help his friend only for a wave of lightning to hit his back.

With a sweep of a leg the Ion is on its back cockpit suddenly being ripped open. The pilot inside gets disintegrated by a burst of plasma. He looks up and almost causally hurls his axe into the other distracted Ion's back. Buck shot shreds the front while Lawrence walks over kicking out one of the knees. He yanks his axe out while the Ronin lashes out with a blade, it divulges into wild swinging and bashing that makes a gore filled mess of the Ion. After impaling the other machine a few times the pilot stops. The titan looks up shoulders sagging, the pilot clearly sighing and coming down from an adrenaline high. "...Thank you sir, life was flashing before my eyes there"

"Can you still fight, pilot?" The Ronin reloads his leadwall slowly and looks up at the looming grey figure.

"Yes sir I can, all my critical systems are still green" They both look up to see several Militia ships cruising in overhead. With a beckoning motion the pair are now running back towards the main battle.

With the titans being herded about by Jacob, Heather was able to badly wound several of the titans and with the support of the rest of her squad was able to close the distance. She ended up pressed up against a tree; tracker rounds crashing into it. The collective force of the Militia had been pushed behind a massive fallen tree that stretches across the battlescape. It was even large enough for the titans to fully crouch behind. The battle stalls into a slow gunfight over a small stretch of oversized trees.

Lawrence manages to cloak long enough to find a good flanking angle. One Tone is knocked over by a flurry of rockets but the wall of return fire forces his retreat. Jacob couldn't get a proper firing angle and didn't have the area of affect fire power to really do any damage. Just as Lawrence replaces an energy canister the radio channel crackles to life "This is the V.D Moltasa carrying Project: Crocuta; we are in high orbit, permission to drop payload?"

Sophia speaks over the channel a second later. "Thank you, Crocuta launching" There's a distinct thump of something entering the atmosphere. They glance up to see the sight of a drop pod on its way down but it was...big, very big. It was heading straight for the enemy line; it broke apart and something made landfall. One very unlucky Militia tone was completely pulverized by the new addition. The titans spin around to target whatever was in the thick dust cloud; a massive armored and clawed hand lunges out. One Tone is caught by the chest, claws finding purchase in the armor. Fire suddenly blooms from the hand, engulfing the titan; its feet leave the ground hoisted up by the looming figure. It takes a few slow steps out the dust cloud to reveal a dark behemoth of metal. Sharp golden accents offset the solid black paint. A pair of optics of the same gleaming gold sit vertically on the chassis both swiveling up to their victim. The heavy back unit held several mounted weapons. Over the right shoulder a large arm mounted chaingun, on the other a fat barreled magnetic launcher. Between them rests a pair of much larger launchers that were embedded in the back unit covered by missile shutters. Finally beside those were four thermite canister ports. Two weapons were latched to the back the biggest was a large, but currently collapsed, dual linked autocannon. Just above was a large seven bladed and complex mace. Its legs held a similar design of Hund and ended in three large clawed toes. The plating was thick and angular leaving little components exposed. The cockpit was a low vertical swept trapezoid shape, completing the broad and menacing visage.

The melted Tone drops to the floor while the mace comes out; the bladed head suddenly flares with heat along the edges. The chaingun spins up tracking targets of its own accord. External speakers come online "Hi everyone, this is my first fight I'm so excited!" Bellows a youthful but heavy sounding female voice that carried an odd rumble beneath each word.

The heavy launcher suddenly spews a flurry of large magnetic grenades; destroying a critical Ion. With a lunge another lost an arm to a mace blow, the others being warded off with automatic chaingun fire. The support squad simply stopped firing, the Militia force was simply far too occupied with the new titan. "You gotta be fucking with me..." Mutters Heather before jabbing finger at the green titan. "Jacob...that's one'a yours I hope?"

"Aw yeah that's out sister Alala, and Hadrián should be lurking around somewhere we'll see him later" A half melted arm flew past. The looming titan had switched to the massive quad linked cannon. Each large barrel extending out, the titans pulls the ammo belt from the large and low hanging ammo drum. Once ready the weapon opens up with a steady thumping rhythm of heavy 45mm shells. Small plumes of thermite would burst wherever the shells land. Lawrence lands at the new titan's side, the other machine a good twelve feet taller. "It good to have you here sister, we have a long campaign ahead of us"

"Oh yeah I know, I'm just so excited to see the world for real!" Came that youthful yet heavy tone from the other end of the channel. The giant titan suddenly leans forward; the ports on the titan's back open and launch several oversized missiles that fly in a steep vertical arc. Three missiles complete their arc before coming down suddenly gaining much more speed. They split apart into a violent scatter of cluster bombs; pelting the bunched up titans in heavy ordinance. Both supporting squads form a line alongside the giant machine .

Hostile cruisers above began taking potshots, forcing the titans to scatter. Francis barks over channel "Lawrence they only got three ships, the Galantan is on the way for fire support, some of the instillation's defense detail have interceptors still airborne. Let's get in there"

A tingle of raw excitement ripples through the wolf; making his tail wag against his seat. "Hund, power to thrusters!" The titan crouches before taking to the sky alongside the NorthStar. They reach the altitude in mere moments, just in time to catch the Galantan warp in guns blazing. Both titans stick close as Militia aircraft moved to attack. A flurry of archer missiles force them apart, a deft swing of claws gores engine of an unlucky ship that got too close. With that vessel spinning towards the forest below. The plasma repeater comes out and he banks left firing a burst into another ship. A barrage of missiles shreds another to his right; Francis streaking by. These craft had heavy weapons, but their main purpose was troop transport; making them far more sluggish in the air in comparison. Another graceful roll and Hund slams onto the roof of a dropship. A chortle leaves wolf as the pilot looks up only to have a fist turn him to paste.

The Galantan was the second largest vessel in the air at the battle, but as a destroyer had far more firepower. "Francis the lead vessel has to be destroyed, I need a way inside!"

A trio of hard working IMC dropships rise up into fight; with the new titans hanging by cables. She waves "I wanna help too!"

Hund rolls out the way of another missile. "The destroyers Alala, help Francis bring them down" Lawrence licks his chops. "Leave that cruiser to me..." Hund's engines max out as Alala directs the pilots hauling her titan. The cruiser launches another set of titans onto the ground as Hund banks to fly alongside. A name in orange letters over a green surface. "The Savalos, we will remember that name, Hund I need an access point close to the main power source"

Alala lands on top of one of the passing destroyers. The defensive batteries swivel to attack. She lifts her left arm. The mounted particle emitter generated a broad rectangular shield of a ghastly orange, Rounds ripple against the barrier as her magnetic launcher and chaingun fire away. The cannon are gored and wounded as the massive titan jogs towards the bridge. She could already see the bride crew panicking. A pair of heavy ships fly over and open their side bay doors to let a Tone and Legion leap onto the ship's hull. With a bellow, Alala surges forward. The heavy frame stays at a lumbering job before suddenly forward and running on all fours. The three joint design of the legs allowed for quadrupedal movement. Now moving at twice the speed she closed the distance rapidly as missiles and bullets chew away her shields.

She goes for the bigger, slower target. A silent command over the neural link has the launcher and chaingun firing wildly at the Tone. She collides with the Legion with all her momentum; both rolling across the ship's hull until they slam into the bridge. The right hand of Alala's titan flares with fire and swings across the Legion's hull, leaving massive gouges in the plating. A set of tracking rockets slam into her back, small upper mounted optics spin around the eye the Tone. After giving the Legion another set of claw marks her left hand whips done to her mace. At the same time a pair of scatter missiles launch.

The Tone dashes backwards only catching a few bomblets until a mace comes flying through the smoke. The chassis caves partially inward from the force, the titan staggers before falling to its back.

Finally Alala rips the cockpit of the Legion. With a plunk an incendiary canister shoots high before landing in Alala's right hand. "Hold this" She chirps at the pilot who had been wildly firing his sidearm. The canister crushes him with a chunky splat. Her left hand reignites and with a demented giggle she brings her burning fist done on the canister. Her shields and heat tempered plating take the fire well, but the Legion explodes outward in a pillar of flames. All that's left is a burning husk; she shoves what's left of the titan away.

Past the glass the frantic crew could be seen working rapidly, no doubt trying keep the ship at a proper firing angle of the Galantan and find a way to get rid of her "Oni" she shouts at her titan "How do we break it!?"

A deep and smoky mechanical voice sounds through her helmet. "The bridge is main control center once destroyed the ship will lose all maneuverability." As he speaks she smashes through the bridge window, canister already in the other hand. "Adjusting fire control systems, targeting hostile vessel engines"

Hund rips the pilot out an Ion that was distracted by a large explosion. Lawrence looks to his left to see a Militia frigate, lacking a bridge and several engines, making a rapid dive towards the forest. Oni floats by; carried by a pair dropships from cables. "Pilot Alala is doing well for her first field test, she will be an invaluable asset" Casually remarks Hund as he pulls the struggling pilot in half. "By the way we have found a point of access"

Lawrence walks them over to the edge before sliding down, leaving long claw marks in the hull. They slide down to a door, Hund rips the hatch away before opening the cockpit. Clawed fingers gently wrap around Lawrence's middle and he's gently tossed into the opening. The wolf grins, pulling his particle rifle out. Hund thumps a fist on his front plating "Be thorough pilot" Lawrence returns the gesture disappearing into the ships innards as the titan leaps away.

The satchel charges rest comfortably alongside the railgun on his back as he runs along the corridor. His on board system guides him along his path. That hatch put him about hundred meters away from the jump drive and reactor. Troops were no doubt on their way to try and stop him. He rounds a corner and comes face to face with some crewman; the man yelps and reaches for a sidearm. Lawrence doesn't slow down, backhanding the lowly rebel into the wall. He could be dead but the wolf wasn't hanging around to check.

Alarms claxon. "Intruder in section A" .The automated voice repeats; pushing Lawrence faster. The prototype finally reaches a door that leads deeper into the vessels depths, at the far end a squad was posted. Two were on a knee wielding thunderbolt launchers and fire the second they see him. Lawrence's boots squeak against the metal floor as he reverses direction and dives away from the corridor. A pair of lightning balls slam into the adjacent wall along with a flurry of bullets. The door behind him opens, he spins and mows down the four grunts that tried to get through. He reaches for one of the arc grenades clipped to his arm. Sliding out from cover he hurls the small device at the squad. Several shots ring against his shields before they fry where they stand. He sprints their way, emptying his particle rifle into their midst before crashing into them full tilt.

The next doorway leads into the main coolant systems for the reactor. It was a massive room; the air was suddenly frigid, steam rose from the cooling vents of his rifle. Ice and condensation covered every pipe and tube in this place. Lights around the area were this soothing blue, meant to be gentle on the eyes while people worked. At either side of the room were two massive coolant tanks meant to store and recycle the precious coolant to keep the core at stable temperatures. The door on the far side opens and three militia pilots storm in. For a moment they all stopped and so did Lawrence. The three pilots had a certain aura that he couldn't fully peg. But one thing stuck out; the patches covering the shoulder of each. All of them regarded him with a reserved kind of energy that only spoke volumes to their training and skill. The wolf licks his teeth, pulse climbing. "Hund, what do we know about the six dash four?"

The pilots burst into action and Lawrence does the same. "The 6-4; an elite core of pilots among the Militia. They are an extremely tight knit group that is considered to be equal to the Marauder core in ability, but have slightly different ideals"

Lawrence bounds off a pipe, mini rockets missing by a few inches and sends the shooter scrambling away with a burst of particle rounds. Another jump sends him bouncing off a broad pipe and slamming into a cat walk. One tries to take advantage of his loss of speed and fires a grappling hook his way. In a blur of instinctive reaction he catches the hook letting and falls from the catwalk; and pulling the pilot with him. The moment he hits the ground the particle rile flies to its holster; and he pulls the cable with both arms. Being an average sized man, the other pilot is sent flying from his spot on another pipe. The pilot pulls out a long and wicked combat knife as he sails through the air. They slam together; the wolf blocking the blade with a forearm. Lawrence slides the hand to the man's bicep and spins. The sound of human striking the pipe echoes through the entire chamber. The pilot lets out a crackly noise that sounds vaguely like a wheeze before Lawrence grabs him by the leg. He swings into another pipe with an almost wood like snap. A set of rounds break his shield before another crashes into the wolf. Lawrence lets out a doggish snarl as a knife buries itself in a seam along his side. It doesn't hit anything vital but shreds layers of muscle underneath. He drops the wheezing man to get his attention on the rest. The knife yanks free from his body but Lawrence is ready for the next swing.

He catches the blade hand by the wrist, with a flex the forearm breaks. A keening feminine wail peels from the helmet before Lawrence plunges a thumb into her helmet visor. His aim was true as his finger plunges into an eye socket. There's a bellow; mixing with the dying pilot's shriek that Lawrence guessed this was the squad leader, crashes into him with incredibly force. So much he separates from the other pilot, slamming into the piping of the wall.

This one was faster; ducking under the wolf's swing to press a pistol to his gut. He manages four rounds with his wingman before a punch lifts him off and away from his enemy. "Pilot" Starts Hund through the radio. "You have suffered damage..."

"Oh no Hund!" Rumbles the experiment as he pulls his own sidearm free; blood surging in raw exhilaration "I doing wonderful!" Lawrence fires away with his heavy pistol, heavy full metal jacketed slugs whizzing dangerously close to the pilot as he scrambles away. His jumps are a bit more sluggish, that punch had done more than it looked like. Lawrence wasn't without his wounds; the knife wound in his side was steadily clotting up but he could already feel the effects of blood loss.

Those revolver rounds didn't penetrate, but he knew he was bruised down to the muscle. He ducks behind another pipe as another burst of rounds flew his way. "You mutant motherfucker!" roars the pilot still firing away down at him. "Kill my fucking brothers you ain't getting off this fucking ship you hear me!"

Lawrence readies another arc grenade, and hurls it across the gap between them; breaking into motion as the grenade flies. The pilot dives away from the blast radius unharmed but loses sight of his target. The 6-4 pilot looks in every direction straining his ears to detect anything. He hears a heavy thump of boots to his right. The pilot spins his submachine firing wildly; the rounds bounce off a gray shimmer before it smashes into him. Lawrence plunges his short, machete-like blade into the man gut. His other hand gripping the chattering weapon, the blade comes flying out and plunging back down higher on his chest. Lawrence rips the machinegun away, that same fist comes down on the man's elbow joint; breaking it with ease. The man roars, and a knife comes flying in, plunging into Lawrence's side inches from the previous knife wound.

The 6-4 pilot's helmet is ripped off revealing a furious middle aged tan man, blood leaking from his lips. A glop of bloody spit hits the Wolf's helmet before he swings the blade into the man's neck.

Lawrence sighs as he stands up; a new helmet hanging from his hand. He jumps back down and unclips the first few charges. For both large tanks he throws two of his eight charges for each tank. Once their set and armed he looks to the two other bodies on the floor, and to the freed up space of the used charges.

With three helmets bouncing against his left hip he blows the charge as he walks out. The entire ship shutters as the coolant tanks are ruptured. Alarms blare as he walks towards the reactor chamber. His particle rifle comes back out as he reaches an intersection, he leans over the left corner and he's met with another burst of bullets. With coolant system failing the ship was basically a floating bomb, time was of the essence. Lawrence keeps his fire up as he walks rapidly across the corridor towards the reactor room. It was only about fifty meters of distance to cover. So once he's out of their sight; the wolf is sprinting away down the hall.

The door at the end of the hall is broad and had large energy warning signs on either side. A single subtly green glowing button sits on the right, he slams a fist on it and the door slides sluggishly open. Boots thunder behind him and he points the rifle back and empties the cartridge their way as he runs in. It was a truly remarkable feat engineering what powers these space faring vessels. It was a massive reaction chamber that fed off of nuclear isotope rich fuel to keep hundreds of tons of metal aloft.

Hund speaks over the radio. "The second frigate has been destroyed, but the Savalos is moving to bombard the facility, you must hurry Lawrence. The dampening rod couplers must be destroyed" His display highlights the four large rods that are pushed up into a large chamber that is covered in sheeting to reflect radioactive particles. He leaps down into the lower section of the massive circular room. The wolf moves in a fast circle; tossing charges where the hydraulic joints met the rods. He bounds back up to the upper level and is met with more infantry, he avoids them with ease, tossing the last of his arc grenades into their midst and mowing down the rest.

With another trigger press the poles are blown free of their supports sending them clattering out the core. The chamber gains a growing orange glow as the reaction loses control. The intercom began to blare about the core failing and to evacuate immediately. Lights flicker and sparks fly as the wolf runs. A powerful tremor suddenly shakes the ship, he can feel the vessel listing under his feet, forcing his run at an odd angle.

The wolf picks up the hammering of boots among the hallways and is able to follow the sound. It takes him into the lower halls of the ship as the sounds of footfalls is getting louder. Soon enough he actual finds crewman but with their backs turned and running through a larger door.

Escape pods, countless of them; many of them were already launching. Another vicious explosion rocks the ship, the angle growing even steeper. "Hund are you tracking me?!"

"Yes, the ship is rapidly losing altitude" The wolfs eyes one of the pods about to launch

"Then catch me!" He dives, claws sinking into upper part of the pod that fires a second later. His enhances skeleton was the only thing that stopped the launch from pulling apart his joints. The pod shrieks along rails for only few seconds before hitting open air. The wolf looks around finding the facility miles away...and the exploding remains of Savalos rapidly coming down on his head.

"Huunnd!" Lawrence howls letting go off the pod, the wolf falls for the longest eight seconds of his life. The roar of thrusters sound out and a giant hand locks around his chest.

Three purple optics look down at him. "Pilot acquired, welcome back" In a graceful spin Lawrence is placed back in his cockpit. Lawrence maxed out the engines and keeps the dive, chunks of spaceship fall all around as they level out over the tree line. The engines cut out and Hund twists in the air feet hitting dirt. Huge grooves trail behind the Hund as he steadily loses speed until hit a log. For a second they roll end over end; claws scrabbling over the grass before they come to a tumbling stop on their back.

The ship groans and rumbles above as the titan gets to his feet. "Ugh..." Hund's cockpit opens and the pilot slides out into the titan's hand. The machine stands to his full height as they pair watch the ship fall.

With one last great groan the Savalos makes landfall.


	6. Part Six: Hadrian's Offer

Project Lupus

Part: 6 Hadrian's Offer

The force of the impact shook the teeth of everyone and everything within a four kilometer radius. Francis nearly lost footing in his titan; the same for most on the ground. Having a five thousand ton cruiser smash into the ground going nearly hundred miles an hour made one hell of ruckus.

It took a solid minute for aftershocks to die down, leaving the entire forest in a stunned and shaken silence. Lawrence stands on the palm of his titan; looking over the wreckage through the magnifying optics of his helmet. He lifts his helmet to look back at Hund, the titan blinks almost innocently. "Excellent kill pilot"

...

Radio chatter was calm and proud at the successfully repelled attack. The facility manager announced that specters would be sent out to flush all the retreating crewman and troopers that escaped the crash in pods. For now they were all told to regroup at the facility.

Francis and Heather, both their titans bearing minor damage, walk together with their squads in tow. Francis let out a low whistle as he looks over the large plumes of smoke in the distance. "Damn...now that's getting' shit done..." Mutters the NorthStar pilot

Heather chuckles at his side, Jacob loping gracefully up to her side. "That's some damn fine good work your brother did up there"

The grassy green titan pumped a fist, Jacob bellowing in victory. "Yeah it was. Holy fucking shit that was crazy!" He broke into a fit of twisted laughter; causing Sheng's arms to jiggle in their mountings.

Heather looks his way as her titan starts to sluggishly climb the incline that brought them into the fight. "I expect somethin'crazy outta you before we got off this rock, little man" Those last words seem to hit with force. Sheng staggers, tripping over her own feet and sliding down the ravine. Jacob grunts in effort as he regains his bearings, coming to a halt at Heather's side.

Jacob stares in silence, brain stumbling. "Y-yeah...fuck yeah you'll see! I don't gotta fuckin clue what I'll do but it's gonna blow your damn mind!" He regains his usual grace and begins to lope his way back up the hill.

Heather couldn't help but grin at she watches him run off. The NorthStar hovers by as Heather keeps up her steady climb, the bulk of the squad at her back. She finally reaches the top of the slope and hears the roar of thrusters. Her, along with several other pilots, glance up to see Hund cruising through the air towards the facility. At that moment the two Vinson Dynamics cruisers warped their way into the area. Sending large ripples through the landscape as they blast back into normal space. They both descend to a hundred foot altitude. The two squads began to their steady sprint across the landscape; with their near fifty mile per hour run it didn't take long for them to finally reach the base.

The main security gate to let them through; the base is full of mostly defense detail titans and pilots. With another roar of engines the pair of ships hauling Oni make their descent; a few feet away Hund comes to a smooth but somewhat sloppy descent. The Galantan swings her way around just as the Gardon warps in. Dropships make a speedy descent towards the base; swinging around as Hund takes a few steps forward with Oni at his side. The first dropship opens its bay door; Sophia comes jogging out across the small field. Randell is behind but a bit more composed. Two more ships land letting two more similar lab coated Handlers.

The support squads all gather around; Francis and Heather disembarking. Heather landing with a grunt; her thickly padded amp-wall kit jostling under the force. She was...on the large side for a female pilot; standing at about six one. On top of being a bit overweight under her armor resulting in a large and imposing presence that mirrored her titan of choice. She took of her helmet; freeing her thick, short brown hair. Her brown eyes and thick facial features brighten as she brushes her hair back.

Sophia comes to a halt as Hund lowers down to a knee; cockpit hissing open. The titan reaches up to help his pilot onto the ground. Lawrence hits the dirt; the landing forcing him to his palms. He rises to his feet before his distraught handler. Sophia looks down before wailing "Lawrence good god!"

Lawrence looks down, noting the combat knife in his side down to the hilt. "Oh...I'm keeping that" he grabs the handle, making his handler screech and grab at his wrist.

"Don't touch it! You're going to the infirmary this instant!" Her hands barley manage to fit around his wrist and she begins to pull towards the ship with every bit of strength she could. The wolf barely budging.

Oni lowers down; his large central plating splits down the center, parting to let a large and metal covered shape to leap to the dirt. Standing at over nine feet was the main part of Project: Crocuta. The thick plating covers every inch; a heavy ballistic weave showing through the breaks in metal. Even under her armor her incredible muscle mass was painfully obvious; from her thick hulking arms to her long but bulky legs.

Her broad triangular shaped helmet bore two optic strips about an inch apart down the center of the helmet; glowing an intense orange. Both massive hands suddenly clamp down on the helmet, and yanks it free. Her features are heavy and thick; a dark, short, but broad muzzle. Yet they still hold this look of a youthful female, especially in her current bright smile and large golden eyes. "Lawry!" She bellows. "That was so cool man!"

Lawrence lifts his helmet with a free hand, trying his best to wave Sophia off for now. "I try Alala, I try"

The hyena strides her way over the, her massive titan glancing to Sheng as her own chassis opened. Jacobs leaps out; bouncing off Oni's front to land on Alala's shoulders "Hey spots, so where's Hadrian?"

Alala looks innocently up at him, tail wagging "You didn't see him drop down?"

The small crew of siblings continue their idle small talk while Sophia backs off, meeting with the two new handlers.

She couldn't stop her gaze from flicking back to the blade out of Lawrence's side, she huffs. "I suppose it can wait. I built him to take far worse..."

There's a smooth chuckle from behind her. "Still doing the whole mother hen thing huh Sophia?"

Sophia rolls her eyes, facing her taller coworker. "How else should I treat him, I didn't slave over this project for a good twenty odd years for nothing, remember we agreed to raise them"

The man, a tall, strong chinned, and blonde researcher by the name of Bradley Hanes rolls his eyes. "Because if we don't treat them like the intelligent creatures they obviously are, they'll no doubt kill us all, yeah I know Sophie. But me an' Alala got a kinda 'big bro and little sis thing goin'"

Bradley is a bit rough in his disposition. But it gave him a blunt and direct way of dealing with things that came in handy at the right times. Another woman; tall, slim and tan watches the four experiments from afar with a smile. This was the handler for Project: Desmondontinae; Maria Alverez.

Maria is holding a set of optics; looking over the wreckage in the distance. "Well" She starts with a smirk. "Lawrence is certainly proving to be effective..."

They watch Alala does her best to shake Jacob off, but the stoat won't give in. Sophia smiles warmly. "I'm so proud of him, and Alala and Jacob did incredible as well." Sophia blinks in thought. "By the way Maria where is Hadrian? You're here but I haven't that young man anywhere..."

Maria goes from pleasant to smug. "Excellent, not a single one has noticed him. His optical cloaking field is working perfectly. Come out now honey" A few feet away from her the air began to distort in the shape of a tall and slim figure. His tall wiry figure came into existence with a small almost mute thrum of a dissipating field; exposing the black titanium weave suit and thin plating that covered every inch of him. His arms were a tad too long; spindly fingertips ending in long dark claws. Those arms complemented a pair of equally long and lanky legs that ended large clawed feet.

A great pair black and leathery wings adorned his back; small arm- like limbs supporting them. The helmet was long and sharp in its angles; but unlike those of other experiments his helmet had full sized optical systems. A single optic strip across that was interrupted by a set long range ocular systems that adjusted and whirred as he looked to his handler.

Both long arms rose up and worked the helmet off in a few deft motions; letting the bat free his face with a sigh. This was Hadrian; the first part of Project: Desmondontinae, and the youngest deployed of the Beasthood Directive.

His features consisted of this and sharp lines, completed with soft, black, and fuzzy fur. His nose was upturned, nostrils vertical openings in soft flesh. His muzzle extends from his face five and a half inches to fit his toothy maw. His eyes were a brilliant blue, humanoid eyes that hid much more abilities. His large and long ears flopped upward once the helmet came free and he gives his handler a grin. Hadrian's voice was young and strong but carried a smooth, inviting vibrato "I would hope so Maria, I need to do my job and all that fun stu-" His eyes flash with surprise before a green blur smashes into him.

Maria squawks, hopping an inch in the air as Jacob tackles Hadrian at full speed. They sail in the air for a few moments before crashing to the dirt. Heather, a small distance away, is leaned against the leg of her Scorch. Watching the two roughhouse like that reminded her of home and youth. It made a warmth spring up a bit in her chest. "Dumb ass kids..." she grumbles; failing to hide her smile.

One of the lab coats casually walks over to her side; Randell crosses his arms as he watches; he rubs his chin in thought as he observes their wrestling.

Heather takes a glance at her titan's leg; doing her best to seem causal about such an incredibly odd situation. "So..." She starts, mulling over what to say. As a mercenary she didn't really interact that much with these types. They often look down on her kind; just seeing them as simple hired meat to be chucked in the grinder. _'Didn't live this long being dumb muscle'_ Thought Heather as she glances at the dark skinned man. "Which one's yours?"

The question forced a sputter of laughter out Randell's lips. "The mouthy weasel trying to get the bat in a headlock"

She shrugs "I could do it better, that's makes you his uhh...what's it called?" the man seem to give her this thoughtful looks at the first part. But he remained pleasant all the same.

"Handler, is what we're called. We also were the senior of each design team." He blinks words gaining strength. "We built them, and we've been raising for around of twenty years"

Heather blinks in thought. "So which one's the oldest?"

A nod from Randell. "That would be Lawrence, he's turned twenty this year, Jacob a year behind and then Alala and finally Hadrian"

The stocky woman's jaw set "real young..."

Randell nods with a bit less gusto "yes, this is their initial field testing phase, to see how well they can perform in combat with the prototype designs. More importantly, how they interact with humans, how well they can function with others not like them, and how these others react back."

He finally looks her way, and gives her a brief up and down "Your name is Heather, correct?"

Heather bobs her head at him, smile forming. "Yeah that's me; squad leader for support unit M-2"

The man blinks before giving her a surprisingly warm look. "So you're the one running Jacobs support squad." He instantly offers a hand to her.

She gives the appendage a glance before accepting; his grip was strong; far stronger than she expected for a scientist. "I just want to thank you for watching Jacob's back, I don't show it much but I cherish Jacob more than anything. I wouldn't call him a son Like Sophia, but he's one of the few things in this world I've grown to deeply care about, I value him more than almost anything in my life. Its good know such a skilled pilot will be at his side while we work."

Heather nods at him gratefully and they fall into silence once more, watching the young experiments revel in their victory. Randell speaks again; tone carrying a certain kind of warmth. "He speaks highly of you, Heather..."

She perks up at that; hands resting on her thick belt. "Whatya mean?" Heather grumbles; the woman couldn't deny she was instantly curious. Normally she can barely give a damn about herself never mind other people; but with Jacob things felt different. He just had this vibe or raw determination that set him apart from her so greatly. He was here because he was literally _designed_ for this; while she was here to collect a paycheck.

Randell looks at group tussling, giving Sophia a smug smirk as Jacob managed to get Lawrence on his back. "He says and I quote 'the toughest damn broad I've met in my fucking life, glad she's on our side, please don't tell her I said that'."

Heather snickers teeth flashing "yeah I'll need to get him for that, didn't know Jacob really paid me any mind..."

Randell give her a nod. "Oh he does" His feature twist in thought. "In fact you're the only one he's spoken of not counting Lawrence...hmmm, guess he's taking a bit of a shine to you I suppose." The man gives her a shallow bow of his head. "I'll leave to your devices Heather and again...thankyou"

She watches Randell walk away, and can't help but notice the Vinson Dynamic logo emblazoned on the back of the ashy grey lab coat. Heather crosses her arms as the man walks away from her, her on the massive corporation going up just a little bit.

There was a call over the radio; it was time for them to get back to the Galantan. The captain said that the handlers were coming up with some ambitious plan.

...

Several days pass by as the handlers were brain storming with the captains; and to a lesser extent the experiments. It seemed that Lawrence was the one coming up with all the ideas while the rest worked out the kinks. This left the support squads to simply wait until they are needed; boredom and trained killers was a very bad mix.

Francis sat alone with his NorthStar in the service hanger; running his own personal checks. He was a man took a great deal of pride in his equipment and preferred that his titan be worked on by him and only him. A tank top covers his bulky upper body while he tinkers in the thruster of his titan, he slams the outer panel shut. "Alright GH give a try" The single large optic gives him a glance before the booster whines to power; blasting a neat jet of flames, the nozzle tightening well. "Thrust focus increased by 8%, you are tuning my systems for greater flight velocity"

Francis pulls a rag from the gray fatigue pants he work and wipes his hands. "That's right big girl; speed's all we got, besides" He gives a lopsided smile, golden hair bright in the lighting above. "We gotta show Lawrence who owns sky don't we?"

The NorthStar only blinks its large single optic. "Despite his training, we have over ten years of air combat experience, there is much he could learn from us"

"I'll say" Came a completely disembodied voice. Francis whips out his auto pistol only for the air to his left to shimmer into the shape if a smug looking Hadrian. He waggles his long fingers at the man. "Helloo..."

The pistol slowly slides back into the holster, his heart calming as he looks the creature over. "So uhh..."

Hadrian raises his hands in an apologetic way. "Sorry, I'm just taking a look around the base you see, and I saw and couldn't pass up the chance for me and Umbra to practice." Those wings pulled forward to wrap around the bats sloped shoulders, acting like some kind of cloak.

Francis blinks, stubble coated jaw setting. "Umbra?"

The lanky bat nods looking up and to the left "Yes, my titan, she doesn't really speak much, Umbra its fine!" Just like the bat, the air nearby GH began to shift and distort into a tall, lanky, and sharp figure. Both NorthStar and pilot far up the thirty seven foot tall machine as it fully came into view. It plating was smooth and dark as the void, bearing small intricate hexagons over little inch. Its arms were long enough to hang a little past the knees, Francis couldn't help but tense up as he looks down the machine's 'hands'. Claws...massive gleaming claws that extended several feet past the fingertip. Each one ended in impossibly perfect edges. Massive strangely constructed wings were tucked to the back. Massive membranes spanned along the skeletal arms, Francis could pick out thin thruster vents hanging from the back. From the titan's back he could the stock of a long narrow rifle, sticking out vertically between the wings. The main chassis was in a pointed delta shape that swept downward in a smooth curve.

But the optics were another story, gone was the often distinct glow of a titan's eyes. This one only stared through dark, small, complicated looking camera that offered familiar light. Umbra had six, one small square one that sat by the left shoulder, squat and low in the casing. The other sat higher on a swivel mount and triangular. The main eye was large and circular at the center, the other was only slightly smaller and was mounted to the upper left of the main eye. This upper mounted optic looked more like a complex scope. The last two sat on the lower chest under the arms, moving in full verticals ways that allowed titan to look behind herself. In shorter terms, this titan looked as if it crawled straight out of some PTSD induced nightmare. This was prototype model MU-8418 but is better known Mala Umbra.

Hadrian grins "Mala this is Francis and GH, they've been watching over big brother all this time." Francis felt his skin shake as all six eyes focused on him, them Umbra gave the titan equivalent to a long nod; bobbing her chassis and eyes up and down.

The sniper waves slowly, still eyeing the otherworldly machine. "If I'm not blind your their long range reconnaissance guy"

Hadrian nods "Espionage, data retrieval, long range engagement, and assassination. Is what I'm trained for a least" Francis nods mechanically, more focused on the creature before him than anything he was saying. Francis had been checking out mentally since the fight at the communication array, this whole damn thing was just getting bit too outrageous for the sniper well on his way to being middle aged. But he with one standing here alone with him he was faced with the incredible oddity of this situation, _this guy is real, this is a real god damn half man half bat super soldier...damn._ He runs a hand through his hair and realizes he's been still and quite for a moment.

Francis grunts and shifts from foot to foot. "Oh uh sorry it's just uhh, ehm..." he coughs into a hand. He does his best to try and form some kind of proper response without sounding offensive. "I'm just kinda still getting used to having you guys around is all"

Hadrian's smile didn't falter. "Well we are one of a kind aren't we?"

"Yeah that sums it up pretty damn well." There was this brief bout of tense silence between the pair, at least it was tense for Francis.

The bat creature gave this suddenly impish smile. "You know this isn't just a test for us you know..."

Francis let his brow furrow. "Keep talking..."

With long stalking steps, Hadrian began to stalk his way around the sniper. "This testing phase is to see how us experiments can handle real life combat situations and interact with other humans in a military setting. But that's only the main part of our operation here." Those teeth glint in the fluorescent lighting. "It's also to test the pilots that were chosen to be in our support squads"

Francis was already not liking the sound of that. "Test how?"

The bat holds up two long clawed fingers. "You're being monitored on two major factors. The first is of course your combat performance, but the other factor is how you interact and work well you with us on and off the battlefield."

Francis shifts into a more comfortable stance, arms crossing. "But for what, Alucard?"

Hadrian gives a low laugh at the jab. "To see if you're eligible for the permanent position as our support unit"

Francis gives him a long stare. "I don't think I'd be too comfy working for some super science corporation..."

The bat's head tilts in an almost challenging way. "You know the amount that you're getting paid for your current contract?" A nod. "If you qualify to become our permanent support unit, you'll be receiving that amount every thirty days"

Francis froze, expression locking at up at what he just heard. This job would have him sitting pretty for _years._ Getting that amount on a monthly basis...

The sniper looks down at the floor and chuckles. "Damn...if that isn't some pep talk..."

The bat gives him this nonchalant shrug. "Well there's this law about how the data for an experiment will be useless know if their being observed, but" He leans forward, face smug. "Not in this case if you ask me, but just to be clear Francis. This isn't a competition; if you all perform well, you all will be accepted as our squad. In short..."

Hadrian's face pulled into this massive grin. "It's time to _rip and tear_ Francis, Vinson Dynamics wants men and women who can keep pace with us. You may tell this to Heather. You all have a chance to become something truly great Francis. I hope you can bring your best very soon. Because we have some hunting to do..."

...

Another thirty six hours crawl by before the Militia suddenly show massive activity. Long range scouting showed several of their vessel being loaded with everything from grunts to Vanguards. Whatever was going on it was massive.

It was through the long range optics of Umbra that their objective was confirmed. Soon they were all gathered on the bridge of the Galantan. The captain paced slowly before the experiments and their squads. "Now" He starts. "I know the situation we have is dire, so our methods have to get extreme. The Militia is launching a large scale attack on the fuel depot on the neighboring continent. The fuel there could keep their fleet on the move for years; and that, ladies and gentlemen is why I'm giving you this mission."

He looks at the oldest experiment, staring the wolf in his gleaming purple eyes.

"Bring me _**Sarah Briggs**_ "


	7. Part Seven: Big Game

Project Lupus

Part 7: Big Game

Lawrence was excited didn't show it, doing everything in his power his bundling energy to seem cool under the pressure of this new mission. But to be honest he couldn't stop his giddiness at the challenge of this fight. On the entire ship ride Lawrence and his siblings have been shifting their way through as much data they could find on infamous commander of the Marauder core. They found she was one of the most dedicated members of the militia, having a long standing career and is a constant example of skill and valor. Their battle strategy was helped along by all the video data collected from previous engagements.

Sarah only moved out on the larger operations. With them attacking the planets only fuel depot, there was no doubt that Sarah would be on the ground. The commander had this habit of surrounding herself with a large squad of her best Vanguards whenever she was in the field.

"Our first and most crucial task is to separate her from her forces" States Lawrence his siblings and both squad leaders gathered around a large holo table on board the Galantan's bridge. "We need do it fast, and timing is of the essence. This is what we like to call a _snatch and beatdown"_

Alala speaks before the humans could ask. "It's this thing we came up if we had to bring down an HVT that was in a titan, we'll try to wound her escort. But the real task is to completely total her Vanguard, maybe even bring it in"

Francis runs a hand over his stubble. "We need to do it when their assault is in full swing, the more confusion, the better. Lawrence; if we give you enough breathing room think you can carry her off?"

The wolf nods. "Hund can haul a Vanguard pretty well, but it depends how much she fights back, so she should wounded before we try to move her.

Hadrian raises a hand. "I believe I can bring down a few Vanguard before Mala's claws lose their edge"

"How many?" Grunts Heather

The bat smiles. "As long as you can keep them distracted, about six. Possibly seven"

Jacob grins, one foot already tapping. "Already know my role, keep the Vanguards off balance so the rest of ya can work"

"Perfect brother" Rumbles Lawrence

Alala suddenly thrusts her hand up like it's a classroom. "Oh oh! I know mine, I'm the one who needs to beat down on Sarah's titan to get her ready for transport!"

"That's right, okay that means we're all set...Didn't think this would be my first time hunting" Chuckles the wolf as shakes his head.

"They have a saying back on my home planet Scooby" Starts Francis, hands going to his hips " _Hunt big...win big"_

...

Cooper let out a long breath as he sat before the R-201 he'd cleaned, dissembled, and reassembled four times in the past half hour.

' _They're going to be there'_

A wash of violent emotion struck Jack, making his teeth grind.

' _HE'S going to be there. The dog, the fucking mutant mutt that killed my entire squad...TWICE!'_

His fist met the locker, thankfully he was alone in here. The small metal door suddenly rattles with a vicious barrage of blows. Pain blossoms in his hands but he didn't bother slowing down until his lungs began to burn. Jack had to vent his frustration somehow before he got on the ground. If he wasn't calm out there, he'll just drag them all down.

It didn't help that there were reports of third colossal prototype titan. Something that brought down a pair of their frigates with some assistance by the local defense detail. That earned the locker few more wild jabs before his anger finally burnt out. When he opens his eyes he's a bit relieved to see he didn't do any real damage to the locker, only a few dents.

Mind somewhat clear he began to gather his hear, slipping on each weapon before finally sliding helmet home on his head. They would reaching the airspace for their drop any minute now. Jack jogs his way down to the hangars to see many automated droids hard at work checking and preparing the Vanguards for battle.

It was easy to spot the burgundy titan sitting in its racks towards the far corner. There she stood Sarah Briggs. She was speaking the very same pilot that Jack spoke to back at The Cog, he couldn't make what they were saying but it certainly about strategy.

His whirling emotions only settled when he reached the opposite catwalk and walk to the third rack down. BT-7274 looks at his pilot with the same big, round, sea green eye. "Hello Jack, are you ready for our mission?"

Jack couldn't stop his smile, his confidence always soars in BT's presence. "As ready as I'll ever be"

The titan blinks "acknowledged, this operation could be put our fleet at massive advantage in our future, taking this station along with The Cog will no doubt prove instrumental"

A sighs works out the pilot's chest as BT opens his. Launch alarms begin to blare and Briggs was giving her usual pre-launch review but Cooper it was all background noise. All Jack could hear was the mantra than chimed over and over in his head, almost deafening as the launch timer his zero

 _Be ready for the dog..._

The Marauder Core fell into rain and thunder

...

The fueling facility sat in the Northern parts of the continent, the area was cold, grassy plains, constant intense storms. Air masses were constantly funneled from the nearby mountain on one side and moisture flowed from the ocean on the other. Resulting in constant ferocious weather. They were actually the reason why the base was here in the first place. The constant lightning and rain kept the place well-hidden when scanning from orbit.

The Galantan cruised just above the storm cell, watching the large Militia fleet approach at high speed.

Explosions rang out as initial missile salvos were launch to pave the way for titan support. Both squads and all four experiments sat in their titans, waiting eagerly for launch.

The order came in a few later. "We confirmed visual on a red Vanguard, were gonna be dropping you just out of their scanning range. Hit hard, hit fast. Good luck"

The world shook around them as they all fell, for a few beautiful seconds they watched the storm rage and bellow around them, lightning clashing and flashing. Right before hit the mud, surrounded by dark, lead, and mayhem. "Target has been marked! You know your tasks! _We have a prize to take!"_ Barks Lawrence as Hund tears off on all fours.

The landing had set the perpendicular to the path the Vanguard force was taking. They would have contact in only a few scant moments. The rain cast everything in weak light riddled with flashes of lightning.

The rebels were using one of the main service avenues, the area full of landing pads and store houses. All of it mixed with the occasional large scale pipeline. Hund spots the first Vanguard from his own path as Alala announced herself.

Jack and several other Vanguard suddenly hear the whistle of incoming ordinance. Sarah screams at them to scatter and four cluster missiles land where they once were. Out of the twelve there four are peppered with high speed shrapnel. Cooper feels his heart seize and he sees a flash of purple optics from a service tunnel. Hund smashes into a Vanguard wielding a tracker cannon. They slide across the muddy earth as that green devil suddenly blurs around a corner and dives into the middle of the squad. Jacobs's sudden appearance makes the all back up; some moving backward but Sarah, Cooper, Katie and that elder pilot to jump farther forward.

One squad member at the far side spun up his predator cannon, "core's rea"-. Long glimmering claws suddenly bloom from the Vanguard's chest like it was the very air. Whatever just impaled that titan danced away as particle bolts sprayed its way. Jack's heart almost stops. "Four!" He cries. "Ma'am there are four experimental titans, one's cloaked!" Just as he said that Oni thunders into the area proper, blocking their advance. Another Vanguard was suddenly impaled through chest, splitter rifle crashing into the mud.

Lightning clashes above among the combat, the light grazing the horrid seam in a split second before it was all eaten by shadow. The support squads make their entrance, charging their way up the path the Vanguard squad had taken.

It gave the other experiments the room they needed to disengage, letting the supporting squads handle the remaining bulk of Vanguards. Farther ahead on the path Hund was crouching behind one of the squat store houses. Cooper and Katie were doing their best to keep him pinned. Calm under the mayhem and losses, Sarah rallied her remaining Vanguards. "Let's move, we can still take the control center and reset the defenses!"

Copper gives a wild kick at the grey titan before tearing off with as much speed as he could muster. He was second to last in the group, the elder pilot taking up the rear. "This way!" Calls Sarah, her titan skidding in the mud and making a sharp left deeper into the facility grounds.

"Hostile closing in, the green one!" Growls the elder pilot, machine gun bellowing into the rain.

Hund flies along at a lazy pace alongside Mala Umbra. The storm made their flying forms hard to see. But the exhaust from Hund's engines was striking against the dark clouds. "Hadrian, bring them down where you can" A plasma shell from Katie grazes Hund's shin.

"Of course, now let's get this finished" Chimes the bat at Hund's thrusters cut out.

Another ball of lightning sizzles past both the old pilot and Cooper. They both open fire, raking Sheng with rounds only for a scant second before Jacob dives away; vanishing behind some heavy piping. Katie levels her railgun the same direction, suddenly she was on the ground. Just as fast as she hit the ground she was spun onto her back. Katie's heart freezes at the horribly familiar purple optic gleaming down at her. "Hello again..." rumbles Lawrence

An entire warehouse to their left suddenly explodes, the massive form of Oni sliding into the area cannons already firing away. Briggs spins to meet her, both launchers letting out a flurry of missiles as she charges forward. Alala drops her cannon to raise her shield, barrier almost failing under the barrage. Sarah bursts from the smoke one foot colliding with shield arm, forcing it away. The commander completes her spin, firing everything into the massive titan's chest.

Alala actually giggles through the speakers. "She's good!" Laughs the Hyena as Sarah dashes backward emptying her rifle at the massive machine. Oni's upper cannons open up, the chain gun chews away at her shields while she tries to find cover. Alala presses her advantage, jogging to keep the distance between them at a minimum. Sarah grits her teeth as she backpedals, the external speakers of her enemy letting out snatches of laughter and giggles. Her titan wasn't doing too well either.

In the roar of rain and thunder, silenced weapons were impossible to hear.

A large, armor piercing round punches perfectly through joint on her launcher. The arm going limp in an instant. Sarah's pulse skyrockets. "Sniper, keep yourselves on the move!"

The elder pilot matches a side step by Jacob and grabs the lightweight machine by the gun. Jacob _hissed,_ the gouging knife on Sheng's back flying out its holster with unnatural speed. The old man lets the blade punch through the forearm of his titan and holds on tight. Sheng had nowhere near the strength to win the struggle. The stoat lashes out with a kick to the Vanguards right shoulder, freeing his blade arm. The old militia pilot growls and throws a kick of his own, his launchers firing at the same time. They separate with the sound of tearing metal, warnings flare across Jacob's display as he boosts backwards.

Sheng's right arm crashes into the muddy earth along with her SMG. The lightning suddenly roars with incredible fervor. Jacob looks up, the orange glow of Sheng's eyes like stars in the rain. He speaks with unsettling calm. "Well now I'm just in a bad mood..." Mutters Jacob before surging forward.

In the confusion Jack heard Katie call his name out. He hoped the old pilot could handle that green titan, but that unseen marksman was still around. However, there was a much more pressing issue of Katie safety. Lawrence had the other titan on against a wall, axe barely held back by her railgun. Hund is forced to dance away as Cooper comes thundering in. Hadrian fires once more, and one of Katie's legs goes limp as a round passes through the main actuator. She falls to a knee, eyeing the entry point of the round.

She lifts her railgun, matching the angle of the approximate path the bullet took; and fires a low charge plasma shell. _Something_ shifts in the air on a distant control tower, the rains dancing off its nearly invisible form.

Jacob surged forward, Shengs feet pounding the mud of vicious intent. Her thunderbolt launcher fires in a rapid two shot succession. The old pilot dashes left, Sheng feints right before lunging. The knife glances off the Vanguards side. Jacobs spins, sending a foot into the chest of his opponent. The half second stagger in all he needs to dive forward, gouging blade finding purchase where the Vanguard's legs met the torso. Jacob takes several machine gun rounds but doesn't falter, lashing out with dropkick that lifts the enemy titan of its feet. The older pilot slams into a smaller storehouse. Lightning clashes above as Sheng leaps into air, the titan does one graceful front tuck; legs curling back on their giant springs.

Landing on the center of the fallen Vanguard.

The lower chest _crumples,_ a great bellow of agony sounds across the Vanguard channel as the old pilot's legs are pulverized under the force. The upper section of the cockpit is suddenly ripped open. The stoat rips the man in two from under his foot. **"TOO FUCKING SLOW!"** He hurls the man skyward and blasts him into red mist with a single shot of his thunderbolt cannon.

Lightning crashes above as Jacob steps off his fallen enemy. "Jacob..." Starts Hadrian, words careful.

"Don't you worry about me man I'm on fuckin fire!" Jacob is rushing forward once more. Hadrian frowns from his perch, feeling that this battle was dragging on far too long.

"Their marksman is targeting us" Mala warns suddenly

Out of reflex he jukes to the side, one limb anchoring him to the tower he stood on. A plasma shell streaks by, almost hitting one of Mala's wings. Hadrian licks his teeth; righting himself and taking aim. His older brother Jacob was already rushing the railgun wielding titan, Hadrian was all the more determined to help. In his high speed run Jacob scoops up his SMG. His accuracy with the single arm was utterly horrendous but it wasn't really built for accuracy in the first place.

To be honest Jacob was internally seething. He could _feel_ Sheng's missing limb over the connection. The socket and empty space that wasn't supposed to be there. Sheng was severally damaged and it was his fault, she was hurting because of _him_. Jacobs snarls as he closes on the sniper.

Katie was trying to line up a proper shot on Lawrence when Jacob opens up with his machine gun, the rounds travel in a far larger spread that peppered her from afar as he closed in. Out of reflex Katie spun to take aim, finding him already horribly close. Sheng drops into a slide, railgun firing feet away from his cockpit. He fires his boosters, spinning and lashing out with a foot.

The force behind it the kick is incredible, sending her titans stumbling. In his spin he rapidly exchanges weapons, and boosts forward, gouging blade speeding through the raindrops. The blade crashes through the three batteries in the Vanguard's side in a flurry of sparks and fire. The power surge throws her systems for a loop. Snarling, the stoat continues his assault.

Jack struggles against the hands of Hund, the axe struggling against his machine gun. He takes a split second to glance over at his commander. Sarah delivers another kick at Oni but gets thrown away with one massive arm. She rolls across the mud before spinning to her feet and launching another flurry of missiles.

The wolf chuckles from inside the cockpit. "We're having lovely weather today aren't we _Jack?"_ Rumbles Lawrence, rapidly gaining the advantage in the struggle. Jack raised both launchers, only for Lawrence kick the other titan away. Several missiles still rake their way across Hund's chest plating, marring the armor badly. "Hund, how are we doing?"

They sidestep another burst of missiles from their foe. "Damage is moderate, core output at eighty percent, all systems are still green but not for long..."

Jack take aims one more, keen eyes catch a slight tremble in the titan's aim; just before the machine roars. "Jack seems a bit frazzled doesn't he...?"

"We have several confirmed kills on Cooper's squad, large amounts of adrenaline, and memories of past engagements are no doubt affecting his performance. Conclusion; Jack Cooper fears us..." A low chuckle works out the wolf's throat.

About fifty yards away Katie struggles to fight with the lightweight frame. Her railgun was proving useless against this titan. Despite Jacob's seething anger and the missing arm, the lacking limb reduced Shengs weight. Each dash carried them farther and faster, their balance was off but this Katie had nowhere the skill that old man had. Jacob jukes another plasma shell and lunges, thrusters firing. He moves low, mud letting him slide into another devastating drop kick. The kick forces her to her back. She rolls to her feet; standing still for a little too long.

An armor piercing round passes through the knee joint of her titan. Katie loses her footing. The bat works the action of Mala's rifle. Another round slices through shoulder, the limb slumps. "I need backup over here!" Jacob throws one more kick, Katie falls to her back; cockpit shaking around her. Jacob slams a foot down on the Vanguard's chassis and slams the knife into her battery ports; blowing the two remaining batteries.

"I think your friend is in a bind Jack..." Cooper looks over to see Jacob deliver another stomp, clawed foot punching a fat hole in the prone machines armor. "Maybe this is her last mission..."

That's when Jacob calls through their channel, still goring away Katie; and dodging the occasional punch or missile. "Hey, can we take this one too?"

For the first time in the mission a handler spoke over the radio. "Fine, you can take her Jacob. She might be more talkative, or at least easier to crack..." Randell remarks slowly as Jacob stows his knife away to get the cockpit open.

"A little help down here Hadrian, We can finish this once we bring down Cooper Sarah will be ours" Calls Lawrence as he backpedals from more of Jack machine gun fire.

Inside his cockpit Jack heart was hammering at a horrid rhythm. "Briggs we need to retreat!"

"I know Cooper! I've got reinforcements on the way, but my titans is on her last legs." There's a sudden sound of heavy fire and the line goes dead.

"Sarah...damn it! Sarah com-"Blades suddenly blossom into the cockpit, gashing one of Cooper's legs deeply. In the same motion Hadrian swings a claw into the right leg. The monomolecular edged blade passing through armor and components like air.

" **BT!"** Cries Jack whole cockpit flops forward and they crash to the mud.

"Central support strut and right leg severed. We are immobile" States BT as Hund kicks them onto their back.

Hund stomps down on BT's gun arm; leering down at his fallen enemy. Sheng suddenly appears on the right; orange optics like fire pits in the dark rain.

With Katie struggling in her single hand. "Subpar as always Jack..." Lawrence brings his axe down on BT's shoulder, before yanking the machine gun from his hand. Even in the rain at this range Cooper could see Hund clearly.

Deep marks in the chest plating from rockets speckle the torso plating, several bullet holes riddled the grey titan's limbs. One finger on the left hand was missing; despite this horrible situation Jack couldn't help but note that Hund had extremely humanoid hands; five fingers for each appendage.

That's when Jacob unloaded his thunderbolt cannon into them. Lightning rakes across the cockpit shooting through Jack's body. Vision clouding, the pilot slumps back into his seat.

"Alala, how is our target?" Asks Lawrence as he begins a jog towards the distinct sound of Oni's autocannon

"Mad" Giggles the hyena, letting off another burst of chaingun fire at the weakened Vanguard.

They find them around the corner by a large set of store houses, constructed in a wide grid pattern; each easily big enough for titans to walk in around in. The lone Vanguard was backpedaling into them, flames pluming from its vents.

Sarah been in the thick of it too many times not to realize what was going down. Her eyes flick in several directions. The grid pattern might help but she would hit open ground eventually. The woman took in a log breath as she looked out at the approaching titans; pockets of gleaming fire in the dark downpour.

The grey one, royal purple points of ghastly light gleaming balefully. The grey plating was almost invisible in the foggy storm air, but those eyes were all too blatant. Just beside the lighter green frame stalked along. Sarah's fury flared at the sight of Katie clutched in those metal fingers. The orange points of fiery light baleful in this downpour. There was another she couldn't even fully see, some hidden marksman that attacked with perfect accuracy.

Last was that hulking giant of a machine, brilliant gold optics marked its massive and looming frame. The commander felt a small tinge of satisfaction at the large signs of damage on all of them. The green one had one empty arm socket, the grey speckled with all sorts of hits. The gold eyed giant even walks with a slight limp, one upper optic completely gone.

All of them suddenly stopped a good distance away, catching her off guard. The sniper even decloaked; some long and spindly nightmare that stood by the giant.

The grey one took a step forward, its steps long and casual. Sarah grits her teeth as she sees a machine gun hanging from its right hand. It pulled an axe from the small of its back, stowing the machine gun away. ' _Probably another trophy...'_ Thought Sarah as the other titan's external speakers came on.

"Hello Miss Briggs, I see that your day has been...taxing" She should have just shot him right then but she let him continue. Hund takes a single step forward. "I offer you this Miss Briggs, surrender now. You have no avenue of escape, you are alone. _You have no hope"_

The grey machine shifted its weight into a more casual stance, free hand resting on its hip. "What will it be... _Commander?"_

Thunder roared and lightning flashed. The red Vanguard was still as a statue, seafoam green eye gleaming in the fog of rain. Inside the Commander's brain was whirling of emotions and options. Every single part of her spat at the idea of just dropping to her knees and surrendering to...whatever was staring her down. A more logical part of her bemoaned about how utterly Outmatched she was.

Sarah had no doubts about her skills as a pilot, she was still the best damn one in the entire Marauder corps. But these things were just _better_ in every sense of the word. Each one was some custom built weapon platform that incorporated technology she'd _kill for_.

However a much more slick part of her head made it known how her capture could be used to her advantage, things she might be able to learn. Or the things she could be subjected too...Sarah made her decision.

With a sudden puff the Vanguard was enveloped in a large cloud of electric smoke. "A terrible choice Sarah..." Sighs Lawrence as begins to walk forward while Alala thundered forward, Hadrian vanishing from sight.

She ran as fast as her Vanguard would allow, eyes tracking through her frontal view for any kind of movement. There was a sudden beeping warning if a missile lock. She fires her thrusters, lunging forward as a cluster missile pummels the area she was just running in. Sarah halts, eyes flicking left to right.

The warehouse to her left _explodes_

Sarah performs another graceful roll, the massive heated mace just barely missing her chassis. She pops to her feet, firing everything she had. The giant raises an arm, a shield blooming from the forearm. It stonewalls the missiles and bullets, starting a lazy jog forward distance.

Despite being almost invisible in the gray of rain, Sarah was fast enough to catch the giant shimmer. In a she brings her rifle up in a knee jerk reaction of defense. The axe head sinks into her machine gun, nearly splitting the weapon in two. She tugs back and slams an elbow into the larger machine letting both hands slip from the weapon. Sarah follows up with a ferocious kick, knocking the menace over.

She dashes left, superheated mace hitting mud and whirls to face the massive titan. Her teeth pull into a snarl as she balls her fists and fires her remaining launcher. The second that shield comes up Sarah's running forward, booster alight. With an almost feral bellow she leaps through the smoke of her previous attack, perching herself on the massive titan.

Oni's shields don't last long under the rapid fire punches. The just as they fail Alala swings one massive clawed hand, smacking the titan off her. The hyena laughs, the sound full of delight and excitement

"You're amazing!" Squeals Alala through Oni's speakers, the machine lumbering forwards. Sarah pops up to her feet, launcher rising to fire once more. Only for another precise round to punch right through one its joints; severing it completely.

On the roof of a nearby warehouse Hadrian shimmered back into the visible spectrum, lazily reloading his rifle.

Lightning crashes above as all three began to close in. Hund reappears at her left, axe spinning slowly in hand. "One last time Miss Briggs..." Rumbles Lawrence. "Come quietly"

For once the red Vanguards external speakers activate. "Eat your own dick, you half mutt freak"

The sky boomed and flashed above. The grey put the axe away and _crossed it arms_ , grin clear in its tone. "Well that's just _mean"_

A round punches clean through the knee joint of the red titan. Sarah stumbles as Oni lunges forward, one colossal hand suddenly locks around her other leg. "Oni" Gleefully barks Alala

"Diverting power to actuators" With a groan of power the red Vanguard was swung like a club, smashing into and through a warehouse. Everything suddenly went vertical, Alala swung the Vanguard overhead in a smooth arc before smashing into the dirt.

She shoved upright Lawrence lashing out and clawing the Vanguard across its frontal plating. Lawrence suddenly grabs the red titan's arm. Oni's much larger hand going for her legs

Sarah leaves the ground, her titan's weight suspended from both sides as they _pulled_. Metal groaned and creaked as her titan was pushed beyond the structural limit.

The arm went first, coming free with a shriek of metal and cabling. Alala staggers back before slamming the red titan into the mud again. Planting a foot on the Vanguard's back, Alala jerked backward rending both legs from the frame.

The burly titan digs its claws into the wrecked titans back, hoisting it to eye level. Lawrence looks over the unresponsive wreck. Only for the titan to lash out with its remaining arm, causing Lawrence to jump backward. Sarah throws an elbow into Oni, striking the arm holding her. The red titan smashes back first into the mud. For the first time in years, Sarah's helmet slams into place over her head before she yanks the eject lever.

With a blast of compressed air Sarah was sent flying out the cockpit. For a scant second Briggs is flying, she uses that small moment to twist in the air. She hits the muddy earth feet first, sliding at a dangerous speed.

Alala spins around, Hadrian lifts his rifle; scoping landing on one of Sarah's legs. Lawrence raises a hand. "NO!...just follow, I will bring her to us."

Lawrence began a jog near the back, still carrying the weakly struggling Katie. The stoat had ripped her out her titan before she could grab her weapons, all she had on her was her combat knife and small sidearm. Her fear still roiled in her mind, she's seen what was behind the plating of that grey menace; god knows what could be sitting in the lanky green thing currently carrying her.

Katie stopped her struggling falling into defeated thought. One gleaming orange optic lowers to look at her, meeting her gaze. Thankfully her helmet hid her features, the last things she needed to do right now is show any fear.

Inside Sheng Jacob stares at the woman in silence. If her recalls correctly this one fought his brother and lost, getting her titan destroyed in the process. Jacob starts to wonder why she's halted her struggling.

A ways off in the storage block Lawrence lopes along, scanners running high to find his target. He let the optics cycle their way through visual spectrums, the lenses moving in a slow left and right pattern. They follow the long furrow made in the mud by her slide, it continues for a good eighty feet, next was a set of foot prints head on angle towards a wall. Then the trail starts along the sheer sides of the warehouses. They exchange between structures, showing a clear trail of her wall running.

"She's moving along the walls but I'm not getting any audio signals" Starts Lawrence, siblings a good run or so behind him. Hadrian was cruising above in slow manner. Mala multiple optical sensors working overtime.

"Sonar's no good with the rain" Starts the bat, titan pulling into a hover. "She somehow dodging thermal too..."

They reach the central warehouses, massive hollow built structures that were just as wide as they were long.

Lawrence suddenly raises a fist while looking down to the mud. Her tracks suddenly turn into a series of fading skids as she moved onto concrete. He looks up to the side of one of the taller storage units. A bland and simple building, only purpose was to keep the elements off whatever was inside. The wolf narrows his eyes, titan stating a slow lumber forward.

On the rim of a window, a single muddy handprint. "There you are..." He rumbles to himself and Hund. "She should be in this warehouse, cover the exits!"

Thunder roars overhead as Lawrence moves over to the massive garage-like door at the front of the warehouse. He flexes both his and Hund's fingers after stowing away his plasma repeater. Gripping the base of the door he shoves the metal door upward with a violent clattering rattle. Lawrence ducks under the lips of the door into the huge store area.

Stacks

Stacks of storage containers in every direction, some short, some reaching the ceiling. There was little light, large light fixtures above along with the downpour outside left small grid pattern islands of stale illumination. It was silent as well, the only sound the subtle hum of Hund's systems.

Lawrence works his jaw before he starts to slowly stalk forward, optics swiveling in a slow and deliberate pattern. Hund breaks the silence. "This Sarah Briggs is proving to be formidable, no other pilot has required this much" The titan pauses, taking a few milliseconds to find the right words. "Energy..."

Lawrence nods slowly as he makes a turn in the grid of containers. The wolf feels a certain prickle on the back of his neck. He could feel her watching, waiting for the right moment to strike. Lawrence couldn't hold back a challenging smile. Said smile vanishes at the distinct sound of someone landing on the back of a titan.

Sarah Briggs, mud slathered and furious, clamors across the back of the grey titan with great difficulty. The design was unfamiliar and sleek, handholds in different places she had to feel for. When she finally got onto the Hund's back her jaw slacken a tad under her helmet. Sitting right next to the mounting of each thruster was a full battery port. She grabs the handles on the first two, twists, and pulls.

Hund staggers at the sudden power surge, falling to a knee as Sarah runs off; ditching the batteries. "Hund, hatch"

Lawrence hits the concrete floor particle rifle charged and out. He looks left and right, before cloaking and heading in the direction she had to have jumped. He refrains from using his jumpkit, the less noise the better. "Hund, high alert"

Behind him the grey titan get s to feet, plasma repeater coming out. Hund's cooling vents leaked steady, thick black smoke as he moved along. The titan was battered and wounded, but more than able to keep the fight going. From then on all their communication was done over their neural link. Lawrence stalks along, grey shimmering form jumping doggishly from stack to stack. Some containers were hollow, letting him skulk his way through them.

He lands down on top a set of containers that created a simple platform.

A grenade thumps at his feet, it detonates immediately. Lawrence sails backward, trailing smoke, slamming into a container. He's on his feet in an instant scrambling away as assault rifle fire glances of his back. He can see her, on one knee and firing away at him. Blood surging the wolf starts to make his way towards her position.

The second Sarah's magazine runs empty she's running. Running off the side of a nearby container to get more speed. She read the reports and all but it was still jarring to actually see that giant figure with those gleaming purple eyes. She could hear the sound of an oversized jumpkit and boots hitting metal behind her. Sarah could feel it's leer on her back, making her skin tingle and her feet move faster.

They came to a much higher platform, which Sarah hit knees first. Her grappling hook flies from her arm, latching onto one of the ceiling struts. Hund suddenly comes boosting into sight, feet sparking across the concrete. He falls to a knee in the large gap she was passing over.

Hund's launcher perks and hurls a rocket into the strut. Her hooks came free, she tumbles through the air with a cry. Lawrence fires his jumpkit as he leaps from the container. He cruises through the air his greater weight dragging him down.

The grey titan comes a halt, he catches the pilot in a rapid spin. Hurling him like a shotput in the same motion.

Sarah rights herself in the air. " _ **Hello miss Briggs!"**_ Lawrence's four hundred pound mass slams into her at nearly forty miles an hour. Spittle hits the inside of her helmet while all the wind flies from her lungs. They spin and tumble through the air. Sarah rams her fist into his side, despite feeling like she just punched the side of a metal wall she kept the onslaught going.

Lawrence snarled at the blows to his sore body. He glares into that white helmet and rolls with their fall. He lands, boots sparking against the on container beneath them. They slam into a container, Sarah's back smashes into the metal surface. In the rush of adrenaline, two of her ribs fracturing barley registered in her mind as pulls her knife from her side. The dog catches the speeding blade, Sarah ducks under a massive fist.

She brings up both feet to drive them into his chest. It's enough to force them apart, the wolf sliding back several feet. Her kit puffs, letting her rise enough to plant both boots on the wall before rocketing forward. Sarah's sidearm pops in the silence, several rounds smacking into the thick plating of his helmet before she collides with him.

The knife plunges into a seam at his shoulder, both her feet finding purchase just above his hips. Her knife flies from his shoulder and suddenly speeds towards his neck. His hands lock around her forearm and other wraps around her neck. The strength behind the wolf's grip was incredible. Her windpipe strains under his might, her muscles burn in effort. Sarah swears she could hear the purr of servos before she empties her sidearm into his chest.

The small caliber rounds don't penetrate, only managing to piss Lawrence off. Sarah grits her teeth and forces her kit to fire at its maximum. She detaches from him in a lightning backflip, her foot smashing into his face with all her force. There was a heinous crack, the sound rolling over the many containers.

Lawrence takes a few staggering steps backward as Sarah lands a few feet away bouncing once before dropping into a fighting stance.

His helmet smacks into the floor, bouncing a few times before rolling to a stop at her feet. Sarah slowly lets her sight rise. Up those large and plated legs, broad torso and arms. Her mind came to a halt as she finally his face. Lupine features and a pair of big purple eyes that gleamed with human intellect and lethal intent.

Sarah blinks under her helmet. "Guess Katie's report wasn't bullshit after all..."

That doggish face pulls into a vicious, broad, twisted grin. Blood leaks from one of his nostrils, passing his dark lips to stain his pointed vicious teeth. A low, churning sound; a noise between a growl and some sinister chuckle rose from across the small distance. A massive grey hand appears over the lip of their little arena, crumpling several containers as Hund clambered his way up. Without all six batteries Hund couldn't produce enough thrust to get airborne, so he climbed, rising up at Lawrence's back.

They both stare her down in the silence. Hund begins to move forward, one hand planting itself a foot away from Lawrence. The wolf raises a hand, the machine halting before pulling back into a lazy squat.

Ever so slowly the wolf began to walks forward, his gait long and labored. Despite his wolfish look of aggression the dog was hurting all over. That grenade had raddled him badly, he could feel several hunks of shrapnel embedded in both his flesh and armor. That kick left a gash in his gums and several teeth feeling loose. If it wasn't for the alloy his bones were made of, Lawrence would likely broken several bones today, including a spinal fracture.

He finally came to a halt before her. Sarah still glared in her low stance, knife tightly held in her right hand. The other clutching her pistol, the dog stares down at her with those burning purple eyes.

Lawrence holds up a finger. "One last chance Miss Briggs...just put it down Sarah"

The nose of her pistol cracks him across the muzzle. Lawrence spits out a pair of his lower teeth, and giver a low shake of his head. A blade whizzes forward but the dog is faster, in a single step he swung a devastating right cross that smashes into chin of her helmet.

The punch lifts her off her boots, Sarah spins once before smashing into the container behind her. Sarah slumps to her ass, head hanging low, her pistol had spun away somewhere. Her helmet is suddenly pulled free with a hiss of pressure. Sarah's vision swam, her head rolls this way and that before she managed to look up.

He stood there turning the helmet slowly in hand, Hund loomed overhead; staring down with her in silence. Lawrence runs a finger over the small painted X on the front. The wolf looks down and offers a smug, satisfied look. "A worthy prize for a hard day's work"

One last good punch finally sent Sarah into oblivion, the Militia leader going still, blood leaking from her nose.

There was the distant sound of thunder from outside as he just stares at the downed woman before him. The wolf's blood was molten in his veins at this moment, a complete and utter satisfaction at this victory. All of the sudden dog is laughing, a cackling, bellowing laugh that rolled and echoed through the massive warehouse. The laughter trickles down into a long sigh as he reaches down to grab her leg, the other hand scooping up his helmet. "Lawrence, you ave suffered considerable damage"

Lawrence let out a grunt. "I've noticed..." With a huff Lawrence hurls the limp pilot upward. Her body spins before smacking into Hund's palm.

The grey giant's eyes the blank face of the fallen Militia commander. "This one has been a formidable foe, but we should return to the Galantan immediately Lawrence" The titan looks at his pilot with his equivalent to a flat stare, optic shutters half open. "Sophia is no doubt very worried about us..."

That last utterance was enough to cool the hellfire of elation that rippled through him. He huffed out a sigh as he stepped into Hund's free hand. "Correct as always Hund, let's go grab those batteries I'm sure you feel terrible." Remarks the wolf as he glances at the thick smoke pumping from the titan's vents.

Lawrence slips his helmet back on. "This is Lawrence, mission complete, we gave Briggs"

"Lawrence!" Came the cry of his Handler, making his ears pin back at the noise. "You've been silent for nearly half an hour!"

He lands on the ground, grabbing the two batteries under one arm. "Sophia, I needed to focus...could I ave done that with everyone shouting in my ear?"

Hund turns and drops to a knee bending forward to allow better access. With a burst of his kit Lawrence jumps onto his titans back. He eyes several ruddy female sized footprints on back plating...she was able to get the drop on them both. He shoves one in, then the next before twisting them. There was a crackle and hum as the batteries lock in, a great thrum of energy sounds out as the titans rises to his feet.

Hund's thrusters rise and adjust, the smoke not stopping but losing its dark color. "Full power restored, shields charging, all engines online..." With a few more jumps Lawrence leaps over Hund's chassis and landing in his hand. The titan opens his hatch letting his pilot step inside, Hund could feel the weariness coming off his pilot, not to mention a constant data stream on all Lawrence's wounds. Yet the titan couldn't help but focus on the neural feedback that was flowing steadily from his pilot. This satisfaction and elation that was like a blowtorch to the titan's mind, a powerful force that buffeted him with a steady and powerful flow of data.

They walk outside, all the other experiments gathered around the entrance. Alala actually claps, Oni's massive metal hands smashing together in an odd metallic popping. "Alright, man you were in there for a while!"

Lawrence hefts the unconscious pilot waving her about gently. "This one put up quite the fight, but it always ends the same way..."

Randell speaks over the channel. "We've already picked up the support squads, they were able to hold back the majority of the assault force, several titan squads had moved to intercept but were no match"

Maria spoke up next. "The Militia is in full retreat, no doubt from their leader vanishing from their network, we are marking an extraction location."

Lightning flashed and thunder bellows as the experiments begin their slow walk towards the distance shape of the landing Galantan.

Lawrence signs and slumps in his cockpit seat, But Hund barley notices...deep in his high-speed thoughts. Hund's gaze lowers to look at the woman hanging from his hands, in that small moment he simply observes. Eyeing the blankness of her unconscious expression, her slow but still strong heartbeat. How the rain pattered against her suit. Her capture would be instrumental in the defeat of the Militia on this planet and many more. However, another line of logic starts up, blinking his purple optic he begins to look back on military leaders. With Lawrence piloting this became the full focus of his processing power. His presence flies over countless historical and military records he currently had access to. Hund goes over behaviors, actions, strategies, personality files. There seemed a defining factor that allowed these leaders and combatants such success. The titan narrowed this conclusion down to a single sentence.

In order to defeat your enemy, you must have _total understanding_ of them.

Hund lets a thumb rise to brush gently against the distinct red bandanna around Sarah's head. Hund's CPU immediately began to compile a list of questions and methods of information extraction. But...he kept silent, from the emotion flowing over their connection this was a time for celebration and repair, Hund would wait for now. He had his own purposes and ways of achieving victory.

Hund was no average titan, he was not _bound_ by his protocols like most titans were. Hund and his custom brethren were more of just...influenced by them.

Protocol 1-link to pilot

Protocol 2-uphold the mission

Protocol 3-protect the pilot

Protocol 4- Achieve complete and total defeat of the enemy

Protocol 5-Become...more


	8. Part Eight: Forge

Project Lupus Part 8: Forge

Ever so slowly, the heavy inky blanket lifts from Sarah's brain. The first thing for her half started brain to notice was scent. From the smell of metal, hydraulic fluid, and heavily recycled atmosphere she was quick to devise this she was in a titan repair bay, on a ship. A familiar sound of welders and mechanical works graces her ears. With a weak groan Sarah manages to lift her head, eyelids fluttering.

Her vision flickers and wavers was her head rises. Sarah tries to move, finding her limbs bund behind her back. They had simply dumped her on the floor, a drab green tarp underneath her. Brain pounding she manages to shimmy into a sitting position. Sarah finds the sound of the work.

She was in a repair bay.

 _Their repair bay_

As her vison cleared she could see all four of them sitting in their custom sized repair bays, judging on how they all looked good as new, she's been out for at least six hours. She was bare of her equipment, only thing on her was her usual jumpsuit that most pilots wore under their kits.

"Hello miss..."

The odd voice from nowhere shook her briefly before she whips her head in the sounds direction. Only to find nothing, she grits her teeth, eyes scanning around before the air above a large storage crate ripples into a humanoid shape.

Catching the figure in her gaze she had a solid idea who this one had to be. The lanky bat like body perched lazily on the container, face hidden behind it optic covered helmet. Those cameras adjust focus as he looks her over. "I imagine you haven't slept well?" The militia commander doesn't dignify him with an answer. He taps the side of his helmet. "She's awake"

Then he jumps off his seat, landing without a sound, before leaning casually against the crate. His sight veers from her to the titans in their bays. "That battle was costly, really put our titans through their paces..."

Some kind of alarm blared, the largest repair bay had lights flashing across as the many robotic arms began to fold back into their resting positions. With a buzz several larger servos lower the massive titan to the floor. Two golden vertical optics flickers and engage.

Oni blinks slowly, upper optics swiveling before they all move as one to settle upon Sarah. The colossal titan takes two long steps away from the berth, turning to face them.

The bat speaks up. "They'll be here any moment"

The giant titan blinks its upper optic, the lower a half second later. "Acknowledged"

That's when the door at the far end of the huge room hisses open. Out came the four other experiments, or at least that what it looked like to Sarah. Tailing them were four people in long research coats, bearing the colors of Vinson Dynamics.

Sarah narrows her eyes expression going stony as she confirms that these must be heading this operation. There are two mutants she doesn't recognize, one was almost her size. Its armor slim and smooth much like that bat like creature that was watching her. Her brow quirks at the distinct orange glow of the helmet and her anger simmers in recognition.

It stares at her for a long time through the single horizontal optic strip of the helmet before making a beeline for the smallest repair bay.

The other was...colossal. Some massive, but clearly female, behemoth that stomped alongside that blonde man in the researcher's coat. Alala and the largest titan exchanged a look as the massive machine lumbers over. It halts at respective distance, lowering into crouch.

Then their leader, Sarah's face tightens in fury as the wolf comes to halt before her. His helmet and armor looking good as new. That distinct and low smooth voice sounds through the helm. "Hello Miss Briggs, I hope you slept well, last night was a long and very grueling affair."

Sophia steps forwards. "Commander Briggs I'll be brief, we are not going to torture you, and we're not here to stop you or foil your operations."

The militia glares for a long moment before finally speaks, feeling a few teeth missing as she does so. "Then why the hell are you here?" They had no problem in telling commander what they were doing here. After all, they didn't really have a side in this conflict.

Randell cuts in. "Simple commander, data. Well to be more specific combat data"

Sarah's lips part in thought, face stretching into an incredulous look of disgust. "So this entire thing has been some kind of _testing phase!?"_ Snarls the commander, her struggling gaining a second wind.

Maria pushes a few strands of hair behind an ear. "Yes, we needed a proper environment for their testing. So we simply tracked you here..."

"So killing most of my best pilots was just a fucking test!?" Growls Sarah

"Oh please..." Lawrence glances at Sophia and makes some kind of upward gesture. "How about all the men you've killed since you've came to this planet. You may think your cause is noble but we all have our agendas." With a click and hiss the helmet came free, his canine features relaxed. "Your objective just fits what you want, you're no better than the ones you fight, and they are no better than you, just the way things are..."

The militia commander grinds her teeth. "What the hell what you know about our cause? You animal bastards were probably grown in a fucking test tube. You don't know what it's like to live under the boot of the IMC, having your home burned to the ground because it's sitting on top of an ore deposit. You probably can't even process that kind of emotion can you?" The rebel gives a slow shake of her head. "You're just some man-made monster, made by some Frankenstein lunatics."

There's a small bout of silence before Brad leans towards a Randell. "She's a real mouthy one, why do we need her again?"

Sophia scowls down at the commander, far more offended by the way Briggs spoke of Lawrence than herself. "We don't, HVT capture was just part of our testing criteria"

Jacob, who had been speaking softly with his titan, spun around and bellows. "Then why the fuck do we still have her. She's talking a lotta shit for someone were probably just gonna chuck out the air-lock"

Sarah turns her head at another hiss and click. Alala lifts her helmet off, eyes bright and lively as ever. "We already pulled everything from her titan's data core and her helmet, so keeping this lady and her bandanna around is kind of a waste"

Briggs was so busy gawking at Alala she barely noticed Jacob walk over, helmet hanging off his hip. He comes to a halt by his handler, arms crossing. "Anyway Miss Briggs" Starts Randell catching everyone's attention "You can on and on about your plight, but in the end we aren't your real enemy, this is just business. Our purpose here is to find out if our experiments are fit for the battlefield, as you've already guessed. So in the pointless effort to make you hate us less, this isn't anything personal."

Lawrence blinks slowly. "Well until you decided to insult my handler in such a fashion" The wolf takes one step forward, leaning down to bring himself to eye level with Briggs, hot breath washing over her face. "That woman" He glances over at a silent Sophia. "Is the closest thing I have to a parent, I've killed quite a few of your pilots Miss Briggs. I used to collect their helmet as reward for a job well done, but now they're going to be trophies."

"You know what bro" Jacob suddenly barks from behind him. "I think I'll start collectin' too, not helmets though, I'll think' a somethin'..."

Randell pats the stoat on his shoulder. "Yeah you'll find something, smaller than helmets I hope"

"We'll see what we can do with her later" Announces Sophia, already turning around. "Someone take to her to the brig"

The giant hyena starts to walk over, and easily detaches her from the chair. The rest of them walk back the way they came but the hyena hauls Sarah towards another door. With both her hands cuffed, Alala carries the rebel under one arm with an ease Sarah found disturbing. There's a sudden giggle from above. "Bring Briggs to the brig, I gotta remember that one..."

Sarah huffs, body bouncing slowly along in the hyena's grasp. Her mind is working rapidly however, trying to get some kind of mental map going as she makes turn after turn. Eventually they make it to a door, which hisses open at their presence. "Here we are Commander Lady..."

Alala her way over to some grizzly but clean shaven man in the typical attire worn by ship crewman, he was sitting behind a small desk that was to the left of another, much heavier, looking door. Upon seeing Alala step in the man visibly stiffened, but maintains his composure. The hyena bounces Sarah in her grip and he nods, rising to his feet. He pulls a bright orange card from a breast pocket and waves it over the scanner by the door. With a hiss and groan of hydraulics the doors part, revealing a single long hall lined with cells. On the way she spies the only other prisoner. Katie sat on the meager bed, perking only slightly at the sign of the commander. A small flash of despair and hope flashes over her features. Briggs ca only offer a firm and determined nod at her subordinate. Katie nods back at her, sitting a straighter than before. They walk their way towards the far end of the hallway, reaching the final cell.

The cell was sparse as any other as Sarah was lifted, the hyena holding by the collar. The man, roughly undoes her cuffs. Every muscle in Sarah's body coils at the sensation of them falling away, her mind races with plans of breaking free. That was until Alala sent her flying into the cell with a casual toss.

The commander soars for a brief moment before hitting the metal in soft roll. A few more button taps and an energy field forms where the cell ends. The hyena grins at her through orange field, waving at her with one huge before lumbering her way out of the brig.

Briggs glares at Alala's back as she stomps her way out the door. Rubbing her wrists the woman rights herself, taking a long look at the cell around her. Sarah sighs, and starts brainstorming.

...

Jack Cooper was getting really tired of waking up in a hospital bed. His body throbs with a pulsing soreness, but his right leg. A groan works out his lips as the fiery feeling that simmers in the limb while he fights to sit up. "Welcome back sunshine..." Sounds the familiar voice of Col. Ramel. With his neck fighting him for every inch, Jack over at the aging doctor. The man doesn't miss a beat. "Whatever slashed your leg was the sharpest thing I've ever encountered, passed through the muscle and bone cleaner than a twink's back door. Left a perfect wedge shape in your shin."

Jack unconsciously starts to grind his teeh. "How long am I gonna be stuck in this bed Hamel?" The aging medic brow creases gently at the suddenly fire in the younger man's eyes.

"With regenerative enzymes we got pumping into ya, about five months" The reaction nowhere near what Hamel was expecting. People of Cooper type usually just give him this blank look of understanding, face neutral but tight. Others are often distraught or furious about such a recovery time. But with Jack, this wasn't normal kind of anger, this was raw and barley contained kind of fury that was just barely corralled by a rational mind. Word had been traveling around the ship that Cooper had been on seriously short fuse since those prototype titans showed up.

But this...

"Too long" Gruffly replies Cooper, fists balling on the white covers. "There's gotta be a way to do this faster. I _need_ to get back in the fight. Now more than ever Hamel, you know this"

Hamel could already feel more grey hairs coming in. "Cooper listen, I know what it's like to feel powerless..."

It was starting feel Hamel was talking to a lion. "Dereck" Starts Jack, face an iron mask. "I am in no mood for any bullshit, give me some kind of answer, or leave"

Hamel stares at him for the longest time. The older man drops his gaze to the floor, sighing as he rubs his face. "I'll get everything prepped for surgery, this is one hell of step Cooper. You sure you want this?"

The younger man's eyes are a pair of stars. "More sure than I should..."

...

The battered but still standing IMC force on Nalex were given new drive from the news spewing across the radio channel. Sarah Briggs, the face of the Militia, has been captured. Many commanders all over Nalex called for an assault despite the size of the enemy force. With Briggs gone, they assumed the assumed the Militia on the planet were in a power vacuum, leaving them weakened and scattered.

However the Captain of the Gardon refused. Captain Winslow has fought against the Militia for the better part of twenty years. He knew of their command structure, understood that Briggs no doubt had quite a few officers to maintain her forces in case of such an event. Despite under weaker leadership, the Militia were still united. Winslow was steadily growing more nervous about this entire operation, something about these experiments and their supporting mercenary squads. The way these scientists hoard their data, Winslow couldn't shake this odd feeling of upheaval and change.

But the biggest problem was the arrival of the Moltasa. It was a larger vessel that held only loyalty to Vinson Dynamics. Ever since it came along its where all the experiments docked. Winslow's vessel was now more of an escort or extra muscle. The relationship between Vinson Dynamics and the IMC has always been one of pure necessity. The IMC only works with them due to their technology. But these experiments were something truly incredible, despite helping with their research, Winslow's commander has said nothing about the IMC getting any of this data, or any talks of the possible selling of these experiments as weapons to further IMC goals.

Winslow was starting to feel more and more like he was being used. He kept this to himself, he had no intention of jeopardizing this operation over his own suspicions. He was promised a generous commission by general Marder to complete this mission. He wonders if the payment was just to keep Winslow quiet rather than his hard work. He didn't even know how long this 'testing phase' of theirs was supposed to last. All they asked of him was to maintain a proper commander structure and provide strategic advice.

Other than that, they had no interaction whatsoever. Winslow felt no ill will towards them, but he trusted them as far he could throw them.

He could hear the rumblings of something over the horizon. He wasn't sure what it was but he was sure it was going to be ugly.

...

The situation at The Cog was dire. Sarah has been captured, few experienced Vanguard pilots remained. All they had for leadership were the four commanders and the best pilots that Sarah used as her advisors. But With many of them dead, some spots were hurriedly filled

In the deeper parts of the ship lies a large rec room, sitting right next to the barracks. Inside Jack works a pullup bar with an angry fervor. Naked from the waist up, he works through his fith set of one armed pull ups. There a hiss as the door opens. "Pilot Jack Cooper" He stops hanging from the bar. It was one of the Lieutenants, standing in the door way. "You're needed on the bridge"

"Yes sir" Grunts Cooper, falling to the floor.

His right leg, hit the floor a lot louder than the other. He quickly gets himself dressed, and walks over to the Lieutenant, passing by the man without a word. The officers blinks before silently following. The young man's pace is rapid and purposeful, he emits this aura of raw danger and intense determination.

Of course he could understand. Everyone knows about the fall of the Vanguards and their pilots, How many of them were killed by these strange titans that lurk somewhere on this planet. In fact, not counting the ones in training, they had only six remaining pilots, and two of them were currently prisoners. They outnumbered the IMC in this system, but with those experiments around that wouldn't last for long

The pair make it to a broad flight of stairs, Jack marches his way up with the other officer just behind him. The large double doors at the top, painted across it was the emblem for the Marauder Corps. The image made Jack halt, face loosing from his hard scowl, he huffs before walking through.

The door part with a hiss, Jack and the officer passing though. The bridge of the _Abustul_ was almost iconic in design. Built in several tiers that were connected by stairs where people worked and milled about. At the bottom floor was a large holo-projection table. On the top floor he spots the captain's control panel, which currently sat vacant.

Around the table stood the four other Lieutenants and the five remaining Vanguard pilots. The group falls into sudden silence when the door opens, all eyes settling on cooper as he stood there in his under suit. One the officers speaks up, brows rising as he makes eye contact with Cooper. "Hello Cooper it's good to see you recovered to rapidly..."

Cooper walks until he stands at the head of the table. "Thanks, I just couldn't stay in bed while those mutants run around butchering our guys"

One of the pilots, a tall and well-built woman, slaps a palm on the table. "Your damn right we can't. We're all that's fucking left, and those noobies we're working with won't last a second against those things."

One officer nods. "With the loss of the Savalos we have a significant loss of firepower, and any kind of salvage would no doubt be intercepted by those experiments."

Then Cooper cuts in. "Then there's Commander Briggs, who is supposedly now a prisoner..."

The table falls into silence, the highest of the militia all stood there, stewing in their thoughts.

"We just need some sort of plan... "

Jack stares down at the holo-table, arm's crossed and brain buzzing as he looks over the images of their fleet on Nalex and their surrounding the planets and their respective moons. His eyes settle on the small blip that sat on the arid moon of Nalex. Jack wets his lips as gears start grinding in his head.

"Do we have any idea on the size of their defense detail they have on the communication array?" Starts Cooper, breaking the silence that choked the room.

One officer speaks up. "Vaguely yes, it's a moderate force of a pair of frigates. Supporting a contingent of infantry and titans. They're from the small fleet that brought in the experiments. From what our scouts say, they've repaired the tower, but are making no move to send word out."

The same female pilot interjects. "So they're trying to keep everything going on in Nalex contained?"

A nod. "That's what it looks like, their keeping it ready until their done with whatever their attack is for." Replies the officer. With a few taps at the table, the image zooms in on the moon and the tower itself.

"Then that's our next target". Sais Cooper, he hand shoots up to halt all the objections that nearly left the mouths of everyone at the table. "But not yet, we're in no state to be taking any bases right now, for now we have to bide our time, make some preparations." He leans on the table, gaining some momentum as he pieces things together in his head. "First; we need to get those pilots ready, I feel like we're going to need as much titan support as we possibly can..."

...

Alala was bored, Oni could tell she was over their link. Six hundred pounds of curious hyena looking for something to do usually went as good as it sounds. The huge hyena stomps her way along the halls of the Moltasa. The Vinson Dynamics ships had made themselves a small impromptu fleet, with the Gardon leading them. But now the Moltasa had become the carrier of sorts, housing all the titans. For the Beasthood Directive this was their home away from home for now. So for the time being, they were playing it careful, sending Hadrian out to poke and see what going on, this left the experiments to simply wait and be ready.

So here Alala was, bored as can be, and when Alala was bored, she wonders. Her helmet stays on more out of habit, her heavy foot falls carry her along the halls of the vessel at a steady but lazy pace. Somehow she finds herself walking into the repair hangar. This was where nearly all of the titans sat, each in their own berths, being worked by either engineering crew or their respective pilots. She easily spots her titan, Oni sitting in a low stance in the back automated drones doing maintenance.

Her long and loping steps carry her along one of the catwalks the door let her out on, gaze drifting around until it settled on an Ion, and its pilot. It was that Holo-pilot from the first support squad. Her onboard system took a small moment of staring at him to find a name. Soon enough, the young man checking over the wires on the side of his titan had a name pop up on her display over his head.

Will 'Youngblood' Hauss

She stands there in silence, thanks to a large set of earphones he had no idea she was watching him work. Like most pilots on this ship, he was wearing half of his pilot kit when not on mission. A plain white t-shirt covering his torso. To be honest, Alala was feeling curious, the ion was such a peculiar yet impressive frame. She would to ask him a question about it. But the last thing she wanted to do was startle him. Despite her usually happy disposition Alala had a very tactical mind, always keeping her options open. As the designated 'tank' of her group, she had to be, each choice had to be well thought out for the maximum results.

So she stood there and waited, thankfully she gets her chance. Will starts to paw around for a wrench that's just out of his reach. Quickly, she crouches down and scoops up the tool and gently pushes it into his fingers.

"Thanks!" He half shouts thanks to the headphones, working at the bracket for one of the larger cables before he perks up in realization. His head whips around to settle on her broad chest, before making the trip to her helmet.

"Hi" Replies, her brain stumbles for something, she sends a small cry for help over her link for something to say. She gets and instant reply, she shoots a clumsy question. "So your part of the first supporting squad correct?" Alala removes her helmet, and letting it magnetically connect to her right hip.

Intimidated, Will is somewhat slow to answer. "Uhh yeah, I'm technically the lowest ranked, but I couldn't give a damn"

Alala's golden gaze drifts to the titan. "What's it like piloting an Ion?" The question was simple and casual one. But the way his face lit up let her know it was the perfect ice breaker.

"It is god damn magical" Starts Will with grin, quickly going off on a tirade on all the wonders of being an Ion pilot.

...

In the dead of night, Hadrian is perfectly at home. His titan sits on a jungle topped plateau that sat nearby The Cog. The thick brush let him and his titan stay out of cloak, diverting more power to Mala's optical systems.

The magnification sits in a localized window of Hadrian's view. The pair observe the fabrication center, the section that was the most lit and populated at the time. He switches the thermal and is hit with sudden large flaring points of light within the many large hangars that sat in a neat grid pattern.

"Those are plasma welding tools, held by workers standing on catwalks" remarks his titan.

The bat narrows his gaze, sharp eyes flicking around the several different views that Mala's sub-optics offered. He catches the motion of a vehicle. "Umbra, focus view six" The display shifts as the titan move her main optic to look in that direction.

Trucks thunder along one of the service roads, eight of them to be precise. After adjusting focus he sees what each one is hauling. Limbs of what could only be Vanguard titans sit on the beds of each truck, some carrying legs and others carrying arms. He looks his way up the road to see the other end of the fabrication center. One of the larger structures had all the lights on as well, large exhaust pylons top the building as well, spewing large amounts of heat and waste gasses. Hadrian already spotted another set of trucks at one end of the building, several titans loading large containers and components onto another set of trucks.

"It looks like their pushing every resource into restoring their Vanguards..." Hadrian mutters, ideas running through his head as he eyes the movement patters and dispersal of all the light fixtures

"Pilot" Starts Mala's, voice sounding softly in the cockpit. "We cannot risk a sabotage operation at this time, enemy density is too high for infiltration at this time"

The bat stifles a hiss of frustration. "Fair enough Umbra, but this is bad news. We've collected more than enough images for now, let's go"

Mala began to stalk her way back into the forest, her cloaking field engages and she vanishes into the night.

...

Sophia along with each handler stand on the bridge of the Moltasa. It design was far more angular than typical IMC vessels. It was comprised of three delta shaped floors that overlapped and rose backward. The main control center sat on the highest floor. The Handlers stood before the display along with each experiment. Lastly, Heather and Francis stood among them as well. The small group stood before a large holographic screen. The video data Hadrian collected played on screen.

Lawrence scratches along his jawline, staring into the screen. "Sophia?" he suddenly starts, brow furrowed. "How long would it take to build a Vanguard?"

The stout woman's lips pressed into a firm line. "From what we saw in the schematics we pulled from the commander's titan. I'd say a typical crew of ten could maybe have one together about 2 months with the basic equipment. But that one hangar had at least sixty workers, on top of all the tools at the Cog, they could have Vanguard frames ready in roughly eight hours each"

Bradley leans forward as the footage cycles. "That hangar's got about twenty bays in it." He looks back. "How many hangars that place have again?"

Hadrian's ears droop. "I counted a total of thirty during near the fabrication center...they were all active"

Jacobs pipes up. "That's a lot of Vanguards, but those fuckers are gonna need pilots for those, and we killed most of'em..."

Lawrence nods slowly. "That means those new titan's will have freshly trained pilots mixed in with other pilots who likely got shoved up the structure to use those Vanguards"

Alala blinks slowly, mental gears turning. "They're out of options, but it's obvious that their not willing to lose that Facility." Her eyes flash and she suddenly bounces on her feet. "It's the array!"

"That communication tower?" Bradley ask to her furious nodding.

"Think about it!" She chirps "Nalex has multiple complexes that are just too good for them to pass up! I mean look at all the places they attacked. A production and fabrication center, A specter fabrication center, A fueling station! Their trying to occupy Nalex for all its production output but we have them boxed in. So the only way for them to turn this in their favor is by calling in reinforcements. But they would need to overpower us to do get that array, that's only reason they could be getting so many of those titans ready!"

The hyena's tirade left the group in silence, she was absolutely spot on. All the other attacks were attempts at establishing new footholds but now it was going to be some no holds bar attack on the only connection out of this system. It was their only hope of breaking the stalemate and taking Nalex.

"They're going to attack the array and hope to use sheer numbers in order to defeat us and take it over, from there they could send out a message!" Finishes Alala hands going to her hips as she stares at the screen.

Sophia and Randell share a glance. "Our fleet doesn't have the resources to deal with an all-out attack"

"But the rest of the planet does, each instillation on world have decently sized defense detail, their also those remaining blockade that's on the moon repairing their vessels the best they can. They could do the transporting" remarks Randell with rising hope.

"It's the only option we have, besides getting overrun" chimes in Maria

"Then it's settled?" Announces Sophia, gaze casting over everyone present

"Good, we must contact Winslow at once, we need this footage broadcasted across the entire planet..."

...

The news spread like a dark cloud across the beaten and shaken forces of Hydraxis. It caused an outcry among the leader and managers of the instillations that speckled the planet. Captain Winslow had made the broadcast, making the statement as simple and blunt as possible.

The Militia planned to take the array it would take everything they had to stop them.

They all had no choice but to comply. Using the array, the entire communication structure came alive as the entire IMC began to organize a large scale defense of the communication array and its moon. The work was sudden and frantic, with those Vanguards being produced so rapidly they had at the most a week before the Militia made their attack. The patched up IMC vessels move around the clock, cruising in specific patterns to limit detection. They moved as much equipment as their vessels could handle, mostly ammunition and hardware.

The Vinson Dynamics fleet was quick to gather around the array and coordinating all the forces streaming in from Nalex. Hadrian was scouting constantly, monitoring the enemies progress, from what he's gathered in their fourth day of preparation. The Militia even had the resources to produce batteries, those things were being produced by the truckload.

Lawrence and his titan stood atop the Moltasa surveying the progress below. The normally desolate array was now a rapidly growing fortress. Mobile defense walls had been dropped from smaller cruisers in large layered circles around the massive tower. A mish mash of forces were steadily growing around the array.

His ears rise at titan footsteps behind him, a single intake of air lets him know it was his brother. Jacob comes to a halt at his side, Sheng stopping beside Hund.

"Shit's gettin' real crazy down there..." Remarks Jacob, eyeing a smaller ship drop off a load of reapers and specters.

"Indeed brother, the Militia has only one chance at this, if this attack fails they will no choice but to flee the system, before more of the IMC make their way here."

Another made its way over, banking slowly to let its bays open. Heavy titans lumbering out, hauling containers loaded down with all sorts of equipment.

"Sounds like we're gonna have a long work day coming our way, but fuck'em we got this. I mean c'mon it's gonna be nothing' but fresh meat in fresh cans we they come stompin' in here"

"From the amount of titans they are building some pilots will likely be grunts that got shoved through some kind of program, despite being high end cannon fodder they will be very numerous"

"I'd guess it's be about five to one at the least" Grumbles the stoat, scratching his chin.

There was a brief bout of silence before the brothers break into a fit of almost malevolent laughter. "Looks like this fight will be fair then" Chortles the wolf, taking an idle check at a certain internal timer he'd been keeping.

It didn't have much time left.

...

Jack stood at the lip of the engineering bay, watching over a strange but very beautiful moment. The first batch of pilots, rushed but fully trained, we ready to be linked with their Vanguard. The bay had an entire squad worth of new Vanguard online. It was obvious these models had very 'young' AI.

Their optical mountings whirred and buzzed as they looked this way and that. Reacting to every new sound that came their way. Tracking every engineer that walked by on a task. Just 200 meters away another bay was completely full of half built titans, the engineering division working themselves to the bone.

The access door for on the far side of the hangar suddenly hissed opened. One of the elder pilots walked out first, Jack couldn't be bothered to remember her name, and following her was the first squad of new pilots. This squad was the freshest of all of them. Most of these pilots were former riflemen, it made then the freshest of all the new Vanguard pilots. Their training was rushed and grueling, but they made the cut, and they needed all they could.

They walk in a single column eyes glued to the Vanguards who stare back with curiosity. Jack leaps down from the cat walk with a puff of his jump pack. He slowly walks towards the pilot closest to him, the new squad's leader.

He was a fairly standard looking man, if Cooper remembers right he was a Sargent of this very same squad of former rifle. He stood there, looking a bit dazed through his rough and tanned feature. "Sargent Chase, or should I say pilot" that got a smirk out of him.

"Yes sir?" Starts Chase, helmet cradled in the crook of his arm.

"You and your squad have done well in your training and have risen above what is expected of you. That goes for all of you!" Jack barks to the rest of the inwardly beaming new pilots.

' _I wonder how many the dog will slaughter once this is all said and done...'_ Mutters a part of Jack's brain he's grown to hate. He bites down on that dark feeling and continues. "So without any further garbage you are all hereby part of the Marauder Corps."

He levels the Sargent with a proud gaze. "Chase..." he motions to the Vanguard "Say hello to your titan. This is GH-7032"

The man slowly turns to the looming machine it body painted in green and brown camouflage that Chase found oddly fitting. It met his gaze, blinking its large optic. "Uhh..." Starts Chase, never in his life did the former grunt think he would ever be in such a situation. "Hello...mind if I call you Seven-o?"

GH-7053 replies but a moment later. "New Call sign noted. Hello pilot Chase" The titan along with its kin, lower to their haunches. The titan's cockpit unfurls with a distinct mechanical hiss. Chase stairs into the cockpit as the machine offers a hand.

"Please embark when ready"


	9. Part Nine: New Blood

Project Lupus Part 9: New blood

Sophia bites her nail in thought as she looks over the newest images of The Cog roll over the view screens. The Militia forces were reaching a peak.

But the same went for them. The communication array was now a makeshift fortress. Several layers of defense formed rings around the dish, but if push came to shove the array would be leveled by any remaining friendly forces.

Out of reflex she reaches for her data tablet, unlocking the screen with a swipe of her finger. The small screen lit up giving a real time status of all Project: Lupus systems. Hund was currently being serviced, on the Moltasa. Hund's pulse was up, but he was on the ship as well, no doubt training. A soft huff left her as she shut the tablet. That was the seventh time she's checked their status, even with everything calm at the moment, the impending battle formed a dark cloud of worry over her head.

Their experiments were incredibly deadly, Sophia had nothing but total confidence in her Lawrence. But fear still clung to her heart at the sheer numbers growing among the Militia. Well over a hundred Vanguards would be charging this place along with the full might of the militia at their backs. Sure they had gathered as much as the IMC on Nalex as they could, but they would still be outnumbered six to one.

She huffs looking over the screens, this particular still image was the resident hero pilot on world. Jack Cooper was his name, the image was partially from the side as the man looks over the production line. Sophia wasn't sure what to think of them. Vinson Dynamics were war profiteers plain and simple, bearing no ill will to either side of the conflict in the frontier.

But the handler did know this was the one who would be going toe to toe with Lawrence. She almost wanted to thank him, his engagements have provided a wealth of data and put the Project: Lupus titan frame through its paces like nothing else. She runs a hand through her ruffled brown locks, Sophia was sure her Lawrence would survive this, but it was going to be a very...long...day.

...

Lawrence squats in the palm of his titan, Hund walking in his usual slow and steady gait. All around them titans were being serviced, mostly by their pilots. Their numbers were impressive, some bearing different paint job due to zone of operation. But all bore the classic red optics and IMC markings.

Lawrence could still feel quite a few of them staring. Naturally both he and Hund stared right back. Forcing many to look away. "How are these guys looking Hund?"

The vicious purple optics swivel left then right. "Pilot combat efficiency varies but due to hostile enemy numbers, projected casualties will be over 70%"

In short; this will be a complete bloodbath

Lawrence suddenly spots a familiar frame, sending a small ping for Hund to change direction. Sitting off from most the other IMC was a Ronin frame in a low crouch, tending to its blade. Ronin frames were a rarity due to having such a high learning curve. But Lawrence recognized that particular Ronin from a previous engagement.

A pilot rested on its foot, tending to his carbine. The wolf blinks, noting that the man was...small. A brief scan from Hund surmised that the pilot was no more than a 120 lbs.

He rested on a long pair of legs that supported a solid set of hips. A slim torso and somewhat sloping shoulders. His face was faced down towards his weapon, his features smooth and round. His skin tone was a fair and mild brown, reminding the canine of chocolate milkshakes.

A guilty pleasure Lawrence hasn't indulged in a _very_ long time.

The pilot perks up at the sound of titan footfalls revealing a set of sharp brown eyes, under a mess of dark oily locks. Said eyes flash with recognition as Hund grows closer. He slips his carbine onto his back, rising to his feet rather quickly.

Hund drops to his haunches, Lawrence stepping down. For a moment the other pilot shifts around on a tiny pair of feet before finally speaking up. "Hey..." he coughs into an equally small hand. "I never thought I'd see you again after that attack on the specter plant" He smiles through a pair of plush lips, teeth flashing in gratitude. "Thanks, you and your titan saved life" Lawrence lets his helmet head tilt at the sound of his voice. It had this odd shift to it, his o's got extended a hair, a slight flicks of his l's. He bounced the information to his titan. 2.5 seconds later Hund made the confirmation that the pilot was of Brazilian decent. Lawrence hadn't the foggiest idea what Brazil was but he would certainly look into it later.

Lawrence shrugs. "No need for thanks pilot, I just saw someone in a bad way. But I must ask" Rumbles the experiment. "How did that dire situation occur?"

The pilot smiles, running a gloved hand through his hair. "Well I was on my lonesome cause' you know" he jabs a thumb at his frame "Ronin. I ambushed a squad, managed to mop up most of them, but two of them managed to roll in focus me down...that's when you came along"

Lawrence blinks under his helmet. "So you took down an entire Militia titan squad alone?" that was six mid-weight frames downed by with only minor damage to his own.

He looks bashful. "Eh well one of them was already in pretty bad shape, and one who would've shot me had his gun jam"

"Still, that is quite the feat. You're" the dog blink. "I never got your name..."

The pilots lets out a laugh that cut off with a snort. "Oh man that's right" he offers hand "I'm Angel DeRosa. Again, thanks for saving my life."

Lawrence's hand devours the much smaller, Angel finding his grip extremely warm, even with their gloves. "My name is Lawrence, pilot of the one of the prototype frames"

Angel leans over, smiling at the crouching Hund. "Yeah I can see that, it must be amazing to pilot a titan like that"

The experimental pilot and machine exchange a brief glance. "Yes, it's one hell of an experience" replies Lawrence. He suddenly smiles under his helm, making another half step closer to him. "Would you like to be a part of it?"

Angel's brow furrows. "What do you mean?"  
A low rumbling chuckle leaves the wolf. "Angel, I would like to make you a very promising job offer..."

...

Jack stood beside Allen Hernandez, the head engineer among the SRS. The man was looking over the team that was currently working on rearming BT for the coming fight, the new attachments getting special treatment.

Jack gently ground his teeth, a habit he's picked up in the past month. "How did the tests go?" He asks suddenly, planting both hands on the railing.

"Oh it performed perfectly, thing is the charge time. Hooked up to the regular system it took about ninety seconds, and the burst is hella strong. But it only lasts about ten, just gotta choose the right time to fire it off. Kay Coop?" Grumbles the aging but fair skinned engineer, digging around in a pouch for his lighter. "The additional acolyte pods are working perfectly as well, and he's loaded to bear with full metal jacketed arc rounds"

The pilot blinks, feeling the connection to his lower right leg burn and tingle. "Ten seconds..." his teeth grind harder, starting to a very stone like noise. " I can work with that, prep him for the assault"

Jack turns, marching off with purpose. "It high time we cleaned up this rock..."

...

Alarms howl

Sirens bellow

As the sun began to set along the moon long range scanners pick up massive amounts of movement around and in The Cog.

The project teams stood among the bridge of the Moltasa, watching the steady stream of visual data. "Oh yeah that's an assault force on the move alright" Snorts the blonde handler, burly crossed.

"All of the IMC units are scrambling, they will be ready. Doubt many will make it through..." Sighs Randell as he stood alongside the other handlers.

One of the crewman speaks up "Hostile will be in low orbit in ten minutes, their moving fast"

Together the handlers make their way to the main hangar, crewman rapidly passing by and making way.

The hangar is a churning mass of the preparation around the only four frames that rest in launch racks inside. Technicians run checks, there's a cacophonous rattle of ammo feeds running into each machine. The four experiments sat around a small set of temporary stations, preparing their equipment for the grueling battle ahead.

Alala tends to her Tomahawk. It was a horrifying thing; the disgusting amalgamation between a sidewinder, an amp wall disk, and a gauss rifle. It was an ambitious weapon, self-enhancing its own rockets and projecting a personal barrier for her, not to mention the magnetic rails grossly increasing the velocity of the ammunition.

A few steps away Jacob rapidly sharpens his hunting knife, the long blade hissing with each pass of the small block that sat in his hands. Hadrian was steadily loading rounds into magazines, long and deft fingers easily shoving the anti-armor rounds into place. The bat was humming a tune that was lost to the din in the room.

Lawrence was loading himself down with everything he thought he would need, clipping on as many grenades as he carry without issue. His helmet sat on the bench nearby as inspects a handful of firestars, before stuffing them into one of his hip mounted packs.

With a pair of fingers, Sophia lets forth a piercing whistle, drawing the attention of all four of them. "It's time, this will be a decisive battle that will decided who controls the world of Nalex."

She suddenly smiles and shrugs at them. "But that's not what we are here for is it?"  
Sophia began to pace "We came here purely for research purposes, to test you all, put you through your paces..."  
The four experiments rose to their feet in silence, in the shadowed background of the hangar, their titans watch on as well. "But now we have a true challenge for you, even though you have all performed with absolutely excellence, this will be a true test of your design." She clears her throat, looking oddly choked up "You four are the start of something truly beautiful. Something that will bring about an upheaval in our world that will change it forever. Something that will bring about a new age!"

The woman smiles broadly, eyes misty. "You are the spear head of the Beasthood Directive, and victors of today!"

...

Jack readjusts his gloves, this is the fifth time he's done, watching the shape of the moon grow in the vessel's main view port. This vessel was leading the charge towards the moon. He already knew about the IMC defense force that had massed on the world, but was confident in the new force of titan armor at militia's disposal.

If there was one thing that Jack has learned fighting in the frontier, it was the titan dominance.

If you had more titans on the ground, and have them properly supported, you won, simple as that.

His helmet sat nearby, buzzing with a radio activity, the fleet was mounting up to throw everything they had at that communication array.

 _The dog is going to be there..._

Reaching over Jack slips his helmet on, turning away as they passed into the firing range if enemy defenses. Cooper starts to grind his teeth under his helmet, despite the morbid smile that played at his lips

 _But I'll be biting this time_

Shells hammer the cruiser's shields as Jack makes his way towards the main hangar.

...

"This gonna be a long day of ass kickin' today" Starts Jacob, checking over his ordinance, the twin barreled archer was downsized thing to keep his fast moving.

It lacked the raw explosive power of a regular archer, but the missiles were built for penetration and high flight speed. It slapped onto its mag point with a soft clunk.

Lawrence grins toothily at his brother as he sets his railgun on his back. "A long day indeed. I wonder if you'll find something to collect today."

"Let's fucking hope so" Snickers the stoats

Hadrian loads his beam cannon, it was similar to the common anti-titan sniper, but was longer and sleeker, loaded down with ten heavy capacitors along with focusing lenses along its barrel. The catch of the weapon was that it fired an infrared laser instead of the one used in the visible spectrum. It sacrificed the ease of use for greater stealth. "Jacob just don't make it something gross like teeth or ears"

"How about their patches, you know the one's that give their rank or alignment?" Chimes Alala, finally done loading herself down with thermite gas grenades and HEAT charges. The baton like grenades hung from her hips, she could carry four, but with the fight ahead she made space for one more.  
The stoat claps his hands with a manic cackle "That's fuckin' perfect, thanks sister"

All four now ready, slip on their helmets, and make their way to their titans, each one sitting in a launch pod, ready to fold over the titan for drop. Hund blinks at his pilot as the wolf hops up to the cat walk. "Ready for a fight Hund?"

A burst of heat fumes from Hund's vents "Designed, built, and programmed ready pilot" The cockpit opens with a heavy hiss. The wolf, along with each other experiment, climb into the familiar and comforting seat.

That red countdown flared up in their display.

5...

Alala loosens her neck in a series of horrid cracks and pops.

4...

Hadrian leans back, taking a long meditative breath.

3...

Jacob bounces in his seat, fur prickling with eager bloodlust.

2...

Lawrence licks his teeth under his helmet, wondering how many helmets he'll collect today.

1...  
Together they were hurled into the mayhem below.

For an incredible five seconds the four fell from the heavens, ripping through the clouds around the moon. Even over the rumble of orbital drop, the weapons of cruisers could be heard. After the fight second the pods broke apart as one.

The moon was falling apart

A massive ring of vicious green had formed around the array, settling among the crags and mountains that surrounded the array. Even in the small span of their fall, Lawrence caught the sight of long range ammunition pelting the defensive walls of the IMC.

Then they hit sand, hydraulics and servos trilling with force. Landing south of the array, just outside of the Militia attack line.

"There is no plan for today, repel the attack, slaughter any Militia you come across" Announced Sophia voice calm but tight with nerves.

Together they charge, some forces were already drawn to their drop point, breaking away and making their over. Hadrian vanishes, slinking off to find himself a proper perch. Jacob leads the charge, faster frame, eating up ground as they meet with a titan squad sent for them.  
Seven: four Tones, a NorthStar, and a pair of legions.

Upon sight the Tones halted and dropped their shields, forming a literal wall along the lip of a dune. Alala let off four of her clusters missiles, they cruise high before raining down. The defensive titans scatter, one losing a limb in the storm of shrapnel and taking the paint of most of them. 

Hund leans away from a plasma shell, rewarding the sniper with a burst of rockets. Both Lawrence and Jacob end up hurling their weapons. One Legion readies for a power shot, only for an axe to slam into its wrist, the pilot cursing as his ally gets a buckler in the knee. Hund and dance behind a mass of rock while the heavy titans bring up their shields and fire.

With axe still sticking out of its wrist the first Legion's aim suffered horribly, the other's movement was severely impaired with its damaged knee. "Juice'em brother" Chortles the wolf his brother popping up to unload his thunderbolt.

Both charge as the lightning flies, both take a few stray rounds as they collide with the heavy titans. A vicious swing of Hund's rifle sends one to the ground before melting the cockpit in a barrage of plasma. The other end up with several holes gouged through the center mass

Alala's munition brings down one of the Tones in a stream of bullets and shells, another succumbing to a pool of thermite.

The NorthStar had been in a losing duel with Hadrian for entire battle, fat holes marking the chassis. It thrusters flair for a better firing angle, and a shell passes straight through the optic. The remaining Tone topple along with their sniper. Hund yanks his axe out the down titan while his brother gores the other.

The supports finally made fell in, area clear enough for them to get in. No words were exchanged, they simply fell in step with their charged. The pack of titans charged west towards the upper mountains where most of the long range ordinance was coming from

Thing turns from thick sandy dunes to beds of rocks and climbing angles. Nestled among the rocky formations were a set of heavy launchers that were throwing rockets in concentrated rapid volleys. Lawrence watches as another volley flies from among the rocks, they arc majestically across the sky before ripping into the looming defensive walls. "Hadrian, do you have a visual?"

"Indeed I do, they've got one hell of a setup, rocket artillery emplacements all over this ridge. I'd say those walls can only take four more of those volleys. But there's Vanguards on the way, all the serial numbers are new..."

A rattling sound from the green light titan. "Let's see how the new blood holds up!"

...

In

Out

In

Out

Breathes newly minted pilot, and former anti titan infantry, Will McHale as his power along in his Vanguard. He's only known UY-56 for about a month and a half now, training day in and day out, for this operation.

His task was supposed to be simple, defend the rocket emplacements and eliminate any threat that got too close. Now one of the response unit had gone dark, but they did manage to get out that the experimental titans were coming their way. Command informed them that reinforcements were on the way, but had and ETA of ten minutes.

Will and his squad jog along a rocky ledge, the massive twelve barreled launcher disappearing among the rocks behind them. They hit at the top of a broad slope, large spike-like spire of rocks jutting form the slope at odd angles and interval. The left ending in sheer cliff that dropped to the sandy grounds below.  
"Hostile titan inbound, unknown frame type. Experimental titans confirmed" Belts out the modulated but feminine voice of UY-5, the machine perking up her, no, _their_ splitter rifle as something came into view.

A looming mass of grey and gold metal came lumbering from around and outcropping of rock, hefting its massive weapon at the eight Vanguards already scrambling for cover. "You ready UY?"

"Of course pilot, splitter rifle ready, fire at will Pilot" For the first time in his life he fired a weapon in his titan, letting off a burst that flew down range. The vibration of the weapon unloading sent a thrill through him like nothing ever had. Most of them hit their mark, raking against the shields of that monster. The other titan returns fire, forcing Will to spin his frame back into cover, heavy incendiary shells pummeling the rock.

A whoop of exhilaration belts from his chest as the gravity of what he was doing finally sinks in.

He was a pilot

In the midst of titan battle

Things suddenly seem to slow a he lets his gaze drift to his squad mates, UY's optical array following his eye perfectly. The heavy gunner of their squad brings his massive Predator cannon to bear, he heard Mark snarl softly through radio channel, the guns shield blooming while he lets lead fly. The optic narrows in focus, Will can practically see Marks round and tanned featured pulled into a fearsome roar, brow scrunched and teeth bared.

Rounds pelt the shield but the machine stands firm, casing raining upon the rocks at his feet. Small flecks of thermite dazzling along shoulders and forearms. Yet he stands firm, providing heavy sustained fire to take pressure off the rest of his squad.

Amy was to his right, her tracker cannon barking in a steady rhythm and her missile pods, raised and spewing ordinance. Smoke from the launching missiles curls along the majestic gray and orange plating, some of it being dispersed by the heat venting from her boosters.

This is it, this was their new life now. No longer grunts to be thrown into the meat grinder of war, no longer a faceless dreg among the ranks.

Will and his brothers in arms were pilots, the new Vanguards to rip this frontier a new one. Spinning back around to fire, only for plasma to rake along his arm. It scars the plating along UY's arm, a grey titan had joined the behemoth, heavy rifle firing with a vicious accuracy. It did so while jogging up the incline, quickly joined by a lightweight green frame that was moving with a grace that was downright terrifying. Will grits his teeth and fires of a laser shot, making the green titan juke behind a rocky mass.  
"We need to push the big one back! Mark focus it down!"

The Vanguard swung around while Will did his best to provide covering fire against the other titans. The giant titan suddenly swings its massive weapon to its back, a shield flaring on its left arm. Thimble mounted weapons perk as it thunders forward, the green titan suddenly leaps, reaching a horrific altitude. The grey one suddenly bursts from cover, loping at them on all fours.

Amy scrambles backward as that green monster lands just out of arms–length. Will's pulse climbs as he pushes another power cell into his Splitter rifle and popping from cover to fire at their enemies.

Catching the massive titan barely ten feet away. A cry of surprise leaves his chest as he jumps back, the huge glowing head of mace taking the top off the mass of rock that was his cover. He set his rifle to its alt-fire, emptying his rifle into her in his panic. The massive titan flares it shield, it jabs with sudden speed, the mace catching UY in the shin. She stumbles with the force, the other titan raking them with chain gun fire as they clumsily right themselves.

On the far side, Mark was trying to play things safe, predator cannon in long range mode and pods curled and ready. The grey prototype was baiting him to empty his magazine, taking quick bursts with its weapon to get him to return fire. His titan warns him about the state of their ammo drum, he starts to backup, trying to gain distance without too much exposure.

His foe leans form cover, launching a flurry of rockets. He replies it with a stream of led, frame shaking as several rockets found purchase. There's a boom of thrusters as the titan suddenly leaps into the air. With his ammo drum running dry he fires away at his enemy. The thrusters suddenly shift, the grey menace spinning in a blur. The barrel of the cannon is knocked away, axe slamming into the side of Mark's frame. The force brings them to the ground, the grey titan ripping into them.

Amy was doing everything in her power to keep out of his reach. The forest green frame before her moved with inhuman grace and coordination, bounding from rock to rock and send bursts of rounds her way. All she was managing to do was scratch some of his paint while she was rattled with tiny holes. Her pods flair, sending six missiles cruising his way.

In a barrage of machine gunfire, they all burst midair. The frame comes shrieking through the smoke, sliding low to the ground. A yelp leaves her as one leg is suddenly knocked form under her, a split second later she gets a solid kick to the chassis. The blow knocks her to her back, and she scrambles her titan back to his feet.

The green titan was bouncing on the balls of its pedes, horrid looking knife spinning in one hand. Amy felt her sweating go icy. "HK he's just playing with us..." she said, voice half a growl, half a whimper. 

Her titan, HK-9082, was quick to reply as they reloaded their machine gun. "Reinforcements inbound in ninety seconds pilot. Amy, we must hold our ground!" The green titan surges forward, Amy bracing for the next onslaught.

Warnings flash over Will's display as a few bolts of plasma strike over his titan's sides. This grey frame had been backpedaling all the towards the rocket emplacements. Will and UY stager onto the path that took him from the launcher emplacements. It was a long and broad ledge that only allowed titans to walk single file.

Digging in his heels; Will stands his ground, waiting for his enemy to appear. There was a sudden bellow of thrusters from above, and he was suddenly on his back, claws grabbing at UY's chassis. The splitter rifle held the claws mostly at bay but the strength behind those arms forced smoke the rise from his Vanguard's joints.

The rifle was making a mess of worrying metallic noises and the grey titan bore down. Will heart hammered in his core as he stares into that gleaming purple optic. Without warning it reverse falling backward and holding onto the rifle. His world tilts before blurring, back slamming it the rocky wall, in the confusion the splitter rifle went flying down the cliff, crashing into the sand far below.

The single pod on the grey demon's shoulder rises and aims down, dumping its payload into UY's hip. With a vicious kick of it clawed foot, the Vanguard lost its right leg, Will lands a punch, titan fist slamming against its side, but it rebukes by racking its claws along UY's abdominal pistons. Hydraulic fluid sprays over both of them. With a desperate cry, Will firing both acolyte pods.

His foe ducks under the flock of missiles, before smashing his knee into their center mass. Doubling over, their only leg is swept from under them. UY falls to her side, an axe smashing into their battery ports. Will fights with the controls while his titan sputters from the power surge.

Their world suddenly goes upside down hanging over the long drop to the bottom. They dangle from the horrifying monster's clawed hand. It blinks, and for once the external speakers come online. "You are certainly a fresh one..." rumbles a calm and smoky voice. An ETA timer in the corner of his display finally hit zero. "Sorry that your first battle as a pilot is going belly up"  
"Yeah..." Grunts Will through UY "But I was just around to buy some time anyway asshole..."Sighs the new pilot.

Another titan falls at the end of the path throwing up a cloud of dust and sand. A Vanguard walks out, broad sword in one hand, all. The grey titan blinks, _four_ acolyte pods perking at the ready, the stride is easy and experienced.

The green optic narrows in a steely glare as the titan turns to face the Vanguard, the other still hanging from its grip. Strange apparatus are mounted on the shoulders of the new titan, but the experimental frame and pilot recognize that titan like a lifelong friend.

Will falls from Hund's hand as Lawrence smiles under his helmet. A shadow casts over them both as the Militia heavy cruiser lumbers overhead

"Hello Jack"


	10. Part Ten: Blood, Hate, and Metal

Project Lupus Part 10: Blood, Hate, and Metal

The cruiser rumbles overhead as the pair admire each other in heated silence. Chassis idly softly while they both size each other up. Lawrence was more of admiring the new weaponry on his favorite adversary, watching with a growing smile at the twitching quad linked pods. The broadsword softly buzzing in the Vanguards right hand. The wolf's brow furrows at the small but powerful detail he's somehow failed to notice about Jack Cooper, he was left handed.

Something they had in common...

"I must say Cooper, BT is looking well, I certainly hoping that you are feeling the same way" Suddenly starts Lawrence, stroking the temper of the other pilot.

 _That's right keep talkin'..._

Mentally snarls Jack. "Oh yeah we're great, both of us are a little more than what we used to be" Replies Cooper, feeling BT's focus and agitation through the link, feeding into his own.

Lawrence twirls the axe slowly. "I hope so Jack, these fresh pilots of yours have been such a bore..."

BT starts to walk forward. "I bet I could get your blood flowing, dog" Barks Jack

"Oh you always have Cooper!" Lawrence shoots back, Hund stalking forward.

Both are suddenly sprinting, rocks shattering under titans as they collide at near top speed with a horrendous crash of metal. Claws glance along BT's left forearm as the axe and sword clash together in burst of sparks. With a mighty hiss of hydraulics they shove one another away, Jack letting off a burst of missiles. Hund fires his thrusters, deftly twisting around the ordinance and replying with his own.

The rockets rattle Jack's blade as he lunges, butt of the sword slamming away the other titan's free hand. In a ferocious upward swing the axe is sent spinning upward. With an almost feral scream, Jack brings the sword down.

The sword comes to a halt in the between Hund's hands. Lawrence backflips, kicking them across the cliff. The axe lands in Hund's right and he hurls the sword like a throwing knife. BT rotates, catching the sword and sending it spinning back like a discus at the grey monstrosity. Hund flicks his weapon upward, the sword going into the air.

Jack leaps, sword landing in their hands as they bring it down on their foe. Lawrence falls backwards with the force, kicking BT's over his head with the momentum. Jack performs a front tuck, BT's feet slamming into the rocks as they spin to face their enemy.

Once again the pair fall into silence, safe for the plasma shells buffeting the hull of the cruiser still above. "By the way Sarah is still alive" Idly comments Lawrence

Oddly enough, Jack could barely bring himself to care at the moment.

"Good, something to do after I yank your ass out that cockpit!" Roars Cooper, BT planting their feet and flaring all four acolyte pods, unleashing a full barrage of ordinance.

Hund drops to a knee and switches to his plasma rifle, letting forth a scattershot of hot plasma. The molten munition blows the missiles apart.

A Vanguard bursts from the smoke.

In knee jerk reaction Lawrence throws himself off the cliff, thrusters flaring as he spins in the air, climbing back into the air. Rifle roaring at the Vanguard on the cliff. BT speeds along the ridge, loping in the direction of the emplacements. Their own machine gun returns fire, bullets glancing along the angled plating of the flying titan.

Lawrence dives, weapon firing away until he collides with the Vanguard with a spectacular crash. BT rolls, kicking the other machine back into the sky. Lawrence spins mid-air, thrusters flaring as he lands among the Militia artillery.

Hund's optics swivel about as crew begin to scatter, bullets pinging off his shields. BT jumps over a rocky mass, thundering his way towards the position and barking over the radio. "All crews hostile titan in the area , be ready to bug out on my say so. BT charge a pulse"

"Roger, diverting power" They round a corner just in time to see one of the artillery crew flying at them, in a deft flick of his wrist BT snatches the man from the air as gently as he can. Whatever gratitude he made was ignored as titan and pilot charged in.

"They're coming..." Remarks Hund as they wipe the crew of the first heavy launcher.

"Cooper, pulse ready!" Rumbles BT

"Do it!" Roars Jack, titan frame moving at top speed. The nodes sitting atop BT's shoulders flare, small nozzles opening as air is funneled through and sound is amplified.

Unleashing a focused column of ultra-high frequency sound at the grey titan at over a thousand decibels.

Lawrence is suddenly struck with an agony beyond _imagination,_ fire bursting in his skull as both his and Hund's systems are raked with the disrupting pulse. Their display falls into nothing but static and flickering system warnings. Together they stagger, Hund's bulk fighting to maintain balance.

That's when BT tackles them at 70 kph

"A-a-attempting s-ssytem- system r-r-rebo-o-ot!" Call Hund as bullet rake their armor, BT emptying his magazine into their center mass, once the weapon ran empty Jack just started swinging with everything he could muster.

With a roar, he grabs on Hund's leg, spinning and hurling the titan into the massive launcher. The missile pods crumple as the massive thing tips over, coming down in a mass of twisted metal with Hun laying in the center, great purple optic flickering.

Inside Lawrence shakes his head, skull pounding as something to thick to be tears runs from his eyes his eyes. His display comes back online "Systems restored!" Announces Hund with more venom than his synthesized voice should have allowed.

BT slams another ammo drum into his rifle before claws suddenly lash out, sending the rifle spinning away and raking along his forearm. Hund pounces with horrid speed, sending Jack and BT to their back. One of their new launchers goes flying off somewhere, another swipe almost costs BT a finger.

Hund was covered in bullets holes and dents, some of this heavy frontal plating gone altogether, yet the frame lashed at them with vicious intent. Lawrence suddenly jukes backwards, hands locking around BT's ankles, the Vanguard is suddenly heaved up before slammed into what was left of the artillery launcher.

Hund suddenly opens his hatch, Lawrence leaping into his palm. BT rights himself in time to Hund hurl his pilot in the direction of the rest of the emplacements. "Cooper, hostile pilot on the move towards artillery, I will hold off the titan."

"Got it" Cooper lies as the plating folds away and he's tossed out as Hund charges, slamming into BT while he breaks into a sprint after the other pilot.

Jack fights to steel himself as the titans brawl at his back. Despite their constant battles this would be the first time he would be fighting the experiment face to face. Cooper bounds off rocky crags , rocky cliffs a blur under his feet at his closed in on the emplacement under attack.

He could hear wild gunfire as he rockets his way up a stout cliff, leaping over the edge, landing south the of artillery.

The dog was loping along a wall, strange rifle ripping into the sparse squad as the gunnery crew made a run for it. He lands by the launcher, boots sliding against the sandy grit, whipping around to face him. Even from this distance Jack could tell his opponent was inhumanly large, standing at just over 8 feet.

The looming figure paused at the sight of him, helmeted head tilting curiously. Jack, out of reflex, fires a burst. The giant pilot _jukes,_ the hundred yards of distance somehow enough to let him dodge the small stream of rounds.

Jack's seen this done before, but only saw it among seasoned simulacrum pilots among the IMC.

He had to get _close_

Lawrence on the other was happy to finally see his favorite adversary in the flesh. "You're smaller than I expected Jack!" The wolf ducks under another burst of fire, and is forced into a run as Cooper empties the mag in his direction. Jack gives chase as he forces another magazine into his weapon, bounding his way in the dog's direction. The running shape of Lawrence suddenly spins in place, huge clawed hands grabbing the lid of a heavy supply crate. He catches Jack mid-jump, hurling the lid like a shuriken.

Jack swears, kit firing to adjust his course. The ceramic lid catches him in the side, sending him spinning to the ground. Cooper hits the dirt with a stumble that turns into a sloppy dives as a Firestar nearly hits him dead on. He pops up, only to get clotheslined into the sand. Lawrence whip outs his blade, skewering the sand where Jack was a second ago. He raises his palm catches a savage kick from the human pilot, his fingers close around the limb, snorting under his helmet.

In a show of inhuman might, Jack is suddenly in the air. The wolf swings the human over his head, slamming him stomach first into the dirt, bouncing him off the sandy ground. Cartoonishly, the dog does this a horrid several time before tossing him away with spin.

Jack bounces off the sand one last time with a wheeze, already feeling what had to be several bruised or fractured ribs. He could hear the thundering steps of the wolf coming his way. Hissing in agony, reaches to his right wrist, slamming the activation on the bulky device on his arm.

The signal emitter fires, emitting the same frequency as his titan, although nowhere near the same amplitude. It still has the intended effect; the hulking form halts, clutching at his helmet, shaking on his feet, fighting to level his rifle at Cooper.

Wheezing, Cooper yanks the pin on a grenade, heart hammering as he waiting for the right time. He hurls the grenade, its strike the wolf in the chest. Detonating against him point blank. The blast lifts the wolf off his feet, carrying him a full three yards before hitting dirt. Lawrence trusty particle rifle took the brunt of it, now nothing but chunks of scrap in the sandy dirt.

His systems finally reboot, he spots his pistol in the sand near him, and bullets suddenly rank his prone body, slamming onto his helm and shoulder plating. Brain throbbing, his snarls at the charging Cooper even as he falters, slumping onto his side.

Several damage warnings flair across the wolf's vision. Cloak emitter fried, several hull breaches from shrapnel, shields are fighting to come back online. He hears the weapon mag come free and the wolf bursts into motion. The machete like blade suddenly flies from its scabbard, the dog hurling it like a tomahawk. It a knee- jerk reaction Jack finches behind his rifle, the blade passing into the weapon, stopping just shy of his visor. He tosses the wrecked weapon away to see the beast barreling into him. Kit firing, Lawrence crashes into him in a full tackle.

Now Jack was sure he felt a rib or two break as the huge form slams him into the floor, His knife comes out, a fist smashed the sand just shy of his helmet. Jack's knife glances off some forearm plating, he ducks under a set of claws. He punches one of the bloody holes in the monster's armor, earning s snarl of pain and a huge hand around his neck.

Cooper wheezes weakly, the grip around his throat strong enough to cut off the blood flow to his brain. His knife finds purchase in the wolf's side, drilling into a seam in the plating. The grasp around his throat only grows stronger, darkness starting to crawl at the edges of the pilot's vision. He plants his boots on the mutant's chest, pushing with every ounce of power he could muster, his foe not even budging.

There a purr of mechanical servos from the monster's arm and Jack could feel _vertebrae_ creak. He opens his mouth in a breathless scream, thrusting the knife upward as hard as he could into the monster's chin.

The blade passes under the lip of the helmet, the blade punching through the floor of Lawrence's mouth. Blood leaks onto Jack's arm as the hand finally leaves his throat. The human heaves in a gasp, before the wolf viciously lashes a hand across his helmet.

Stars explode in Cooper's vision as his helmet takes most of the damage, another swipe rakes the entire front of his helmet off. Four huge gashes bloom horizontally across the pilots face, missing his eyes by millimeters. With a roar, Jack uppercuts the butt of his knife.

There's a horrid _crack_ and a half inch of the combat knife rises through the front top the monstrous pilot's helm. A pain yowl belts from Lawrence as he goes scrambling off Jack. Both stagger away from each other, yanking at their helmets.

Cooper yanks the wrecked remains of his mentor's helmet off, adrenaline surging. At the same time Lawrence's helmet hits the sand, revealing the full damage. The knife was embedded in the length of his muzzle at an angle, the end of the blade passing through the roof of his mouth, his right nostril and out his skull.

Blood leaking all over the dog's face, he yanks the knife out, smirking as he tucks it away in a pouch near his back. "I'll be keeping this one too Jack!" Barks Lawrence, blood and spittle firing from his dark lips.

With a quick breath Jack breaks into a run, kit flaring as he leaps to a rocky wall. The path caries them both back towards the base of the ridge like area where the titans still exchanged fire. A round strikes the wall just in front of Jack, peppering him with small rock shards. He leaps away, startling the crew of launcher as he runs across their weapon, the wolf thundering along after him. They reach the edge of the plateau leading farther below. Cooper jumps, spinning in the air and whipping his out his automatic pistol.

Lawrence curls his body, protecting his bulk with the thick plating of his shin and forearm. The rounds created a new slew of small dent along the plating as Cooper lands along the barrel of a launcher, the crew already dead by the wolf's hands.

Jack here's the thunder of BT's machine gun, spotting the titan half the farthest launcher, locked in fire fight with the grey titan. The launcher shakes as a heavy weight crashes into it, Lawrence rolling to a stop at the far side of the weapon. Jack rolls of the launcher an oversized slug grazing the padding along his back. His kits cushions his landing before he dives behind a crate, oversized rounds pelting the sand here his center mass was but a second ago.

He slams another magazine, glancing at the pair of titans battling not far off. Jack didn't even dare to poke his head out as he fishes an earpiece out a small, hidden seam along the neck padding of his armor. The pilot taps the small button on its side as he hears boots slam into the dirt just ahead of the crate, "BT!" he shouts, blindly firing at the experiment.

"Cooper" Came the low churn of his titan "State your status!" barks the titan, currently firing down at the other titan.  
"I'm not fucking dead, how about you?" Huffs Jack, emptying another mag at the dog.  
"System analysis:...fair" Came the reply. Both were beaten and hurt, but not crippled yet.

A small distance away Lawrence sits behind one of the supports for the massive launcher, small rounds chewing at the metal. "Hund, how are things?"  
"Same as you pilot. I am damaged but I am still operating at above seventy percent efficiency" There was no point in mentioning the damage, they both already knew.

"I need you to finish the Vanguard Hund, time is short"  
"BT think you can take a pot a shot at this guy if I give you a signal?" Puffs Cooper as he readies for next move.

"I will do my best pilot, all acolyte pods ready on your command, Jack" Replies Jack, suddenly scrambling away from the crate as fire star lands too close. A fat slug slams into his shoulder, his right shoulder blade shattering like a plate. He hits the floor with a cry, he slams the device on his arm against his leg. It activates, letting forth it horrible frequency. 

_****__**"BT!"**_

The titan spins out form his cover and flares all four of his acolyte pods, and empties them at the launcher emplacement.

Lawrence just barely managed to see all 56 missiles arc down at him while his systems tried to reboot. The entire launcher vanishes in a glorious fireball. The blasts sends Jack tumbling end over end, heat and hot metal brushing his body all over.

He slams into the dirt, his other shoulder popping out of its socket from the hard landing, he rolls to a stop with a wheeze. Something hits the dirt, inches from his head, he forces his body mostly upright to see a huge, grey armored leg sitting next to him in the sand.

And nothing else

It ended in nothing but a meaty stump and a few jagged rods of metal that he guessed were that thing's bones. He pans his head around, waiting for the dull ring to leave his hearing, spotting a battered grey shape on its back.

With a snarling exhale he reaches over to his mostly unhurt arm, shoving the limb back in place as he got to his feet.

In his state he somehow didn't notice Hund plunge his hand through BT's bulk a few hundred meters away. The grey titan rips out a massive chunk from the Vanguard. But Jack kept walking, leaning down grab the end of a hunk of metal that was jutting form the sand.

The monster lay there, several fist sized holes in his chest, leg gone. A chunk of his face was simply gone, the right side of his alloy skull exposed along with a mostly empty and sparking socket. That side of his canine muzzle had been stripped of most of its flesh, ghastly and skeletal.

The hulking grey form gave a low mechanical whine, blood bubbling from his teeth as that doggish head swivels slowly to look up at him. Even with both his arms screaming at him he grabs the twisted rod of metal in both hands, lashing the wolf across the face. Blood and teeth spray across the sand grit the body jerking from the blow. The wolf tries to lift his torso, Jack swings again, putting the dog back in the dirt.

With a bellow he spears the twisted mass of metal into Lawrence's gut, pulping a kidney and pining the experiment to the ground. He falls to his knees, straddling the hulking cybernetic mutant. Jack swings into his face with a heinous crack.

It felt like he just punched a girder but there's was too much anger and adrenaline in the pilot for him to stop. He swings again, jarring the dog's skull to the side. He rears his fist back, swinging his shoulders with the punch.

A huge hand clamps around his fist, the grip trembling as the wolf fully turns to face him. A single deep purple iris glares at the man. Lawrence twists, an alarming pop crackling from the limb before the wolf knocks him off with right cross.

Across the way BT slams into the dirt, arms up against the viscous blows of the grey titan. The hole in his side sparked and fumed, damaged joints and actuators whining from the force.

Lawrence half gurgles, half snarls as he forces his body to rise, hunk of metal rising out the sand along with him, propping himself up on his three limbs. Lawrence lets out a long steamy breath and he takes hold of the rod, and yanks it free with a splash of gore. Blood trailing, he scuttles along as Jack picks himself up. Several .45 rounds patter along the wolf's frontal plating as he bowls the human over.

Jack pistol whips the cyborg, giving him the momentum the roll the dog onto his back. The wolf grabs ahold of the weapon, the pistol chattering above his head before he yanks it free, tossing it away. A spare blade comes out, the wolf fighting to kept the blade away from his neck. Jack leans his weight into the blade, bearing his bulk over his foe. The hydraulics in the experiment's arms trill as he suddenly swings his free hand into Jack's jaw. That knife buries just above his collarbone as they roll once more.

Lawrence diverts most of his power to his left arm, and swings into his face once more. Several of Cooper's teeth join the dog's in the sand. With a low rumble the experiment wraps his hands around his throat with crushing force. The pilot kicks his legs under the hulking form, he reaches up and digs his fingers into one of the wolf's wounds. The growl grows even louder, his grip emboldened by the horrid agony. Flawless eye contact is maintained as Jack windpipe starts to collapse. Those horrid jaws part, Jack wheezing as hot, bloody drool patters onto his. Molten coppery breath blows over his face.

"Go to sleep Jack..." Darkness and spots crowd Jack eyes as his brain starves for oxygen, heart slamming against his chest.

BT falls to the floor, leg falling from its socket. Hund plants a foot against the fallen titan leveling his plasma repeater at that gleaming green optic.

Jack wheezes, power seeping from every single fiber, the shadows begin to fully devour his mind as the lack of oxygen begins to take its toll.

The tactical pad along the wolf's wrist suddenly begins to rapidly chirp, the noise intense and insistent. The grip around Cooper's neck suddenly begins to slacken, yet the growl in his foe's throat grows all the louder. Those canine features twist into horrid frustration even as Cooper coughs and gulps down breath.

Lawrence looks up. "What!? But...I almost have him!" Barks the experiment, looking almost cheated. "I know we are out of time but it will only take a moment to shatter his spine and..." His speech halts more, busted jaw drooping and his expression pulling into defeated frustration.  
"Yes...Handler" the dog said with a sigh.

There was a thrum and a light carrier suddenly banks above their heads, casting a massive shadow as the wolf sneered down at him. "Your luck and good fortune are without end, Cooper" rumbles the wolf bloody spit raining on the man's face.

Heavy footfalls thump towards them, Hund limps into his vision. "Our testing phase is complete, we have no more reason to stay on this planet" Mumbles the wolf, voice wavering as the titan gently wraps his fingers around his pilot.

Those canine features sag as Lawrence holds onto Cooper's neck for just a little longer before the human thumps to the sand. His pistol hits the ground beside him as that Cockpit seals up. A rumble begins to roll through the air. Jack weakly looks over towards the sounds.

Certain ships around the tower were firing their escape thrusters, massive pillars of smoke rising into the sky and they made their exit.

The ship above flairs its bay doors as the titan blinks down at him. "Saved by the bell Cooper..." the titan intones, boosters roaring as it shoots up into the shadowed belly of the craft above. Jack forces himself to sit up, still forcing as much air into his lungs as he could, nursing the massive bruises around his throat.

Something suddenly smashes into the ground. Cooper jumps, pawing at the pistol in the dirt, managing to level it at a new dust cloud. A breeze catches the cloud, revealing a life boat. The hatch blasts off, smacking into the dirt as a bound up shape tumbles out.

Jacks eyes caught a snatch of a bright red bandanna.

He forces himself to his feet, BT dragging himself towards them, saying something about on the way. The attack was still going on but all Vinson dynamics forces were bugging out. Briggs struggles came to a halt as she recognizes one of her best pilots.

"It's good to see you alive Cooper" She replies with a much dignity as she can, despite being propped against the lifeboat.

"Commander they just...left all those IMC down there. This battle will be over by nightfall if all those experiments are gone" Mumbles Jack, still watching the massive contrails of the escaping cruisers.

"It looks like the IMC doesn't have as many friends as they thought" Replies Commander Briggs, more to herself than her comrade.

...

Sophia rushes her way into the main Hangar of the Moltasa. The light carrier already dropping its ramp. All four handlers and experiments, along with a full medical team are in tow.

Hund marches his way down the bay ramp with slowly and sluggish steps. His lft foot hits the metal of the Moltasa hangar floor, creaking and shaking dangerously. With a laboring mechanical groan the grey machine falls to a knee, fire venting from his back. Hole along his plating spark as his reaches into his cockpit, a shape crawling into his hand.

Sophia's hands fly to her mouth as Hund sags in place, Lawrence laying in his hand. She hears Jacob swear behind her but all she could was rush to his side as he rose up.

"Handler" Starts Lawrence as her hands went to his face.

"We have failed you..." Continues Hund with a sputter of smoke

"Our primary target is still alive, I take full/..." The woman shushes him, waving over the medical team and their automated stretcher.

"You haven't failed me at all Lawrence, your mission was to gather as much data as you could and that is exactly what you did. You've made me so proud dear..." With a purr of servos Hund lowers his pilot onto the stretcher. "Now rest for me, please..."

"Thank you handler..." The dog looks over as Jacob rushes to his side. "Brother..." The dog manages something close to a smirk as he points to the blade sticking out of him. "I stole his both his knives..."  
Jacob blinks before thumping his fist against his elder brothers, watching as the dog gets carted off.

As one they all follow the wolf into the bowels of the Moltasa.

Together the Vinson Dynamics fleet flock out the system, as one they fire their warp drives. They rocket off into the cosmos, leaving Nalex to fall under Militia control.

It didn't matter though.

For they had plans far more ambitious than a single solar system.

Plans far more ambitious than mere control of the frontier.

Plans beyond would any would expect of them.

Plans that no one would dare to see complete...


	11. Chapter 11: Smile for the camera

Project Lupus Part 11: Smile for the Camera

Lawrence sighs, breathe blasting out in a cloud of bubbles that rose gently up to the top of the tank. He'd been stuck in this tube for the past four days, his repairs still not complete. Fighting the urge to gnaw on his oxygen tube, he looks down at his new leg.

A mass of servo arms worked away at the skeletal mass of alloy, completing circuits and preparing the outer dermal layers of the muscle tissue. Another mechanical set of appendages that ended in fine needles work at the steadily repairing flesh of his upper tiny deft fingers move at a blurring speed, working tirelessly to knit together his dense, multi-layered muscle.

The dull green fluid around him blorped and gurgled as he floated lamely, bored nearly to the point of fury. Someone entered the room, his tank was the first in a row of many. They were used for repair and construction of the experiments once they reach full maturity. Once grown, the endo-rig is installed, which is why the tank is needed to accelerated healing after such a massive surgery.

Their vessels were on their way to the core systems, it would utterly deplete the reserves for them to make it in a timely fashion. Proper warships just weren't built for long range travel, the Vinson Dynamics cruisers were scouting models and corvettes. Even then, once they were back in the core systems, the engines on these were going to need a total replacement.

It was his handler, walking into the large room with easy steps. Her appearance was far better than the days just after the battle, it looked like she sleeping normally once more. They meet eyes she walks over to the tank, a prompt intercom were mounted on the side and her finger depresses the button.

"Good morning Lawrence, how are you feeling?" Came Sophia's voice slightly distorted through the remote connection.

With a small stream of neural data, the prompt displays his reply.

'Bored out of my mind, how much longer am I going to be stuck in the goop?' The woman snorts at the word. It was simple nickname started by Jacob for the Protein enriched repair and bio-fabrication solution.

She sets her palm on the glass, tapping gently. "You've got two more days in there, besides, we need you looking your best. You've got investors to impress... "

'Will there be food?'

"Yes there will be food"

...

Jack awakes to a subtle burn of pain in every inch of his body. A sound between a moan and a hiss works out his lips as he forces his eyes to open, brain throbbing at the sudden influx of light. He blinks, trying to get his bearings of the room around, wheezing through a dry and scratching throat.

Blinking weakly, his vision comes back into focus. A male voice sounds to his right. "He's awake, go inform Briggs" Jack's neck pops painfully as he takes stock of the room. Finding Ramel walking to his side, looking as grim as usual.

"Follow my finger" He orders, Jack tracking the fingertip as it moves before him.

"How long?" He wheezes again, the doctor looking his vital over.

"You've been out for the better part of around five days" Sighs Ramel as footfalls rumble from the outside the med bay. Sarah Briggs along with her lieutenants walk in, his heart lifts as he spots a familiar face.

He was sure that Katie had been lost in the ensuing chaos when she was taken. But just like Sarah, she had been released upon the departure of the experiments.

The experiments...the attack!

"How did the rest of the assault go?" He asks, Ramel pushing him back down into the bed.

"Routed cooper, without the additional fire support from the Vinson Dynamics fleet they just didn't have the firepower. Nalex is ours, Cooper." Her expression darkens "Only because those monster decided they were done here..."

A bout of silence, Jack's face falling into a flat state as he mulls the situation over. "That fleet, do we have any idea where they went?"

Sarah exchanges a look with her lieutenants. "Our best guess is based on their mission to gather data; the only place they could be going is the core systems, and wherever they built those things..."

Jack groans into a sitting position, his face twists and he could feel the scars. He knew he must've looked hideous, but personal appearance has been on the backburner in his head for a long time now. "Then let's get to work, it's only a matter of time before they come back. I'm getting the feeling that we're gonna another big corporation stomping around the frontier." Jack didn't notice more eyes in medical settle on him.

"It's gonna be rough having them around, and I imagine the IMC is pretty miffed about the shit they pulled at the array. We've had some hard times ahead of us, but we'll do what the Militia has always done when shit hits the fan...we'll endure, and persevere"

...

Sophia looks over her dress for the twelfth time tonight as she stood behind the massive curtain of a stage. The massive conference was scheduled for the debut of the Beasthood Directive to all of their investors. The most powerful and wealthy of the core systems were either here or watching through a live stream.

She was going first since she was the first of the Handlers. Sophia never had a problem with public speaking, she was a researcher so it was nearly second nature, but the gravity of the situation had to pace rapidly.

"Handler..." Came Lawrence's voice. He stood there, doggish features set in concern. She sighs, managing a smile. Lawrence had grown into much more of a leader during the testing phase. Her review of his combat showed his concern for those who were fighting alongside him. The view interviews she did he was quick to express his yearning for the thrill of combat. Yet, in the next sentence, he would express his urge to further the strength of those around him and himself, expressing a feeling of obligation to all of them to perform.

Just as projected in his design, he's falling mentally into the role of a leader. She couldn't be prouder of him, she walks over, cupping his cheek. "I'm fine Lawrence, just nervous as all." The lights from the other side of the curtain suddenly began to darken, the massive stage becoming the center of attention. "Get your helmet on dear, remember" she smiles at him. "Look tough"

With that she began to walk her onto the stage, a spotlight instantly landing on her. The small mic hanging by an earpiece carries her voice across auditorium. Countless suits and dresses spot the many and lights staring her down. A small army of reporters also mill about the stage, flashes already hitting her. Sophia clears her throat as the Vinson Dynamics logo flares on the holo-screen that made up the back wall of the stage.

"Hello, I hope you've been having a wonderful evening so far. But we already know why you've gathered here. I am Sophia Navascosha Bioengineering and combat robotics specialist." She gains a prideful smirk. "And head Project: Lupus the first installment of the Beasthood directive" A minimal depiction of a lupine head with the purple lettered name.

She clasps her hands behind her back. "As the first combat model, Project: Lupus is built to be the ultimate multi-roll offensive combatant. A master of the battlefield and a pillar for allies to stand upon, and a visage to demoralize one's foes" The crowd gave little reaction even as she smiles impishly.

"But why listen to me when you can see him for yourself" There was a roll of confusion and mumbles among the crowd. She raises a pair of fingers to his mouth, whistling with purpose. "Lawrence!"

With his helmet on, Lawrence rolls his neck and starts to walk forward. "Ladies and gentleman, I would like to introduce you the first part of the Project Lupus!"

Music he couldn't recognize blares as he walks out onto the stage, his stride smooth and measured. He kept his shoulders straight as he marches along the stage. A spotlight hits him the second he's in view, the gazes of countless fall on him as he makes his way over the flashes of cameras pummel his armor as he moves. He comes to a halt beside her, falling into parade rest beside her.

Sophia motions proudly as she walks around him. "This is Lawrence, genetically engineered endo skeletal combat platform. Standing at eight feet and five inches and weighing in four hundred pounds." She taps her headset and a panel, A small cabinet like container suddenly rises from the floor and from it she pulls from it a pilot's helmet.

She holds it for the crowd to see, the holo-screen behind them giving a close. "This is a standard issue IMC helmet commonly given to their pilots. It can withstand 850 kilograms of pressure!" Sophia hands it over to Lawrence who takes it in both hands. Murmurs roll from the crowd at the show of strength.

The servos in his arms purr and the helmet crumples like a beer can between his fingers. With a few strong handed motions, the wolf reduces the helmet to a wrinkled ball of metal.

"But what is a pilot without his titan." Sophia snaps her fingers. From above, the grey titan leaps down, landing on the reinforced stage with a boom of metal. Hund falls into his ready position, then rising to his ominous height. Gasps roll through the crowd at his entrance, the titan taking a few steps to stand behind his pilot.

The holo-screen flared up with his name and specs as he squared his shoulder before the crowd. "This PL-1 but has been given the name Hund for his prowess as a combat platform"

Both Hund and Lawrence walked to the far end of the stage, the emblem for the project following them over. "However Project Lupus was not alone."

"Not in the slightest" Came the voice of Randell as he appeared on stage much like Sophia, waltzing into view, striating his tie. His dark tuxedo sharp against his dress shirt underneath. "Good evening. I'm Randell same credential but I specialize in cardio systems. I'm the head of Project: Mustella. Built as a high-speed disruption and assault."

A green blur suddenly leaps from off stage. With a series of jump kit assisted flips, Jacobs lands perfectly at his handler. He got a brief roll of applause which he replies with a bow. The sway of his tail got a few murmurs of confusion and concern. "This is Jacob, the premier high-speed combat frame for the Beasthood Directive. Built for speed, agility, and lethality"

He snaps his fingers, Sheng slamming into the stage a moment later. "And this is PM-1 Better known as Sheng, a frame that complements her pilot in every way, using a new form of independent ocular tracking matrix and sonar technology for maximum situational awareness."

"But speed and lethality are not the only things that going making a remarkable fighting force," Said Maria as she walks into view, her dress a striking purple, lacing along her arms. "Sometimes one needs to be subtle, unseen, and precise. Like him" Maria points to empty space, only for the air to distort and ripple into the shape of Hadrian, drawing sounds of astonishment from the assembled crowd.

"This is Hadrian, Our stealth, reconnaissance, and long-range combat platform, Outfitted with our new experimental light refraction cloaking system. His membrane wings allow for near silent gliding and added mobility." Maria motions to his helmet. "His optical matrix is outfitted with an array of detection technology making his information gathering abilities second to none. All of these abilities are naturally amplified by his partner in crime"

There's a sudden whoosh of displaced air that flutters her dress. Umbra flickers into view, standing behind her pilot. "This is Mala Umbra, the premier stealth frame. Built with the most extensive optical systems even implemented on a titan frame. Allowing her a perfect 360-degree view of her environment. Her clocking field and whisper quite servos and joint make her as quiet as a church mouse. This coupled with her high-velocity armor-piercing rifle and monomolecular claws, she can make quick work of even the most formidable of foes."

"Yeah yeah, that's awesome and all." Announces Bradley as he struts on stage, making a show adjusting his tie. "But as all, you out know sometimes you just gotta bring the house down, rain the pain, take the kid gloves off. Or just fuck shit up" His swearing got a few chuckles out of the crowd

"Just for those reasons, I give you Project: Crocuta!" Alala leaps down from the same hidden frame the titan had fallen. Coming down in an almost iconic 'superhero landing' landing on a knee and fist. She stands, rolling her neck and bulky shoulders.

"This is Alala. The de facto heavy hitter of the Beasthood Directive. Weighing in at 715 pounds fully loaded. Boasted Solid tungsten and polymer plating." With a press of something on his wrist, the floor opened and let a wall and a 4x4 block of concrete. "And of course an endoskeleton with the strongest pneumatics and servos she can handle this wall and block are solid military grade concrete, show'em Alala"

Without a word, the hyena drives her fist through the wall, Sending shards all over the stage in front of her. She lumbers her way over to the block. With a grunt, she hefts the block up, before raising it above her head on one arm. "But naturally a pilot this big, would need one monster of a partner!" Alala clutches the block, before spinning once and hurling it towards the left of the stage. Cries of surprise sounding from the crowd.

The blocks halt in a massive metal hand that shoots into view. Oni begins his slow walk onto the stage, his footfalls thundering in the open space. "This is Oni" the crushes the block for effect. "This is the biggest titan frame constructed to date. Weighing in at a solid 95 tons and boasting an extensive loadout." He goes through long showy spiel of announcing all of his weapons while both titan and pilot maintain a threatening posture.

"And naturally as of the end of this event. The Beasthood directive, backed by all of your and Vinson Dynamics will begin operation in the frontier as soon as we are able." Barks Bradley, throwing "We're gonna take the frontier back, people of the core!"

Cameras begin to flash along with a wave of cheers by the investors. "And as heads of Beasthood Directive!"

Brad taps the device on his wrist again, the screen behind him flare with a particular planet. One that had been long abandoned. The long dead Gate to the frontier.

" **WE KNOW JUST WHERE TO START"**


End file.
